If you’re a small business owner in Minnesota – or someone who regularly buys things with cash - you may want to beware of a growing criminal scheme that seems to be on the rise in the North Star State. According to the Minneapolis Secret Service, there have been a growing number of counterfeit cash cases (say that 5 times fast) in Minnesota.

Apparently, some criminals will take a real $1 bill, bleach it, and then print a higher dollar amount on that same piece of paper. A business in Elk River was recently the victim of a counterfeit scheme when it received a fake $20 bill, which seems to be one of the more popular counterfeit denominations.

So just how many cases have the Secret Service been dealing with in Minnesota this year? 20+ in Golden Valley, 50 in St. Paul, and 60 in St. Cloud, to name a few. There are definitely some bad people out there.

If you’re wondering how to spot counterfeit cash, the Secret Service posted some tips here. Or just start pretending you're a cowboy and buy stuff with quarters from now on. That tip is not on the website.

Source: KARE 11

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