Business owners and store clerks should be on the lookout for fake $20 bills that are popping up in the Madison area.

The most recent incident of bogus money being used was Wednesday night when someone tried to buy items at a Kelley Williamson Mobil mart with a counterfeit $20 bill.

The store is at 3019 E. Washington Ave., and the attempted fraud happened about 11 p.m.

Madison police said a man entered the store, selected a bag of chips and a cigar and wanted to pay for the items with a $20 bill.

“The clerk immediately could tell the bill was a fake and told the customer so,” said police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The customer agreed to put the items back and left the store.

A second man then entered the store, police said.

“He asked the clerk why he wouldn’t take the $20 bill, and the clerk told him the same thing, that the bill was a fake,” DeSpain said.

Both men got into a car and drove away.

A week ago, Maurice Holt was arrested on the city’s north side for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 to make purchases at a PDQ store, and items found in his car may have been used to manufacture counterfeit money.

“There have been many reports from different areas of Madison involving perpetrators trying to buy items using counterfeit money,” DeSpain said. “The police urge clerks and business owners to be alert to the crime trend.
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Counterfeit money is still going strong. Fake bills are becoming more common with the times we are in. We highly urge you to get yourself a counterfeit detector in these tight economic times. One swipe of the pen is all it takes to insure that the money you are getting is real, and to help the fight against counterfeit money.