Oddly marked counterfeit $20 bills passed in Bend

(Update: Correcting marking on back of bill to ‘specimen’)

More than a dozen counterfeit $20 bills with some very unusual, telltale markings on each side have been passed at Bend area fast-food businesses over the past month or so, police advised Tuesday.

Since last month, police have received more than 15 reports of the fake bills being used at businesses such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell, 7-Eleven, Burger King and Bogeys’ Burgers, Lt. Jason Maniscalco said.

The bills all have the same serial numbers and markings, and do look similar to legitimate currency, Maniscalco said, but there’s one initial clue: “The feel of the paper is different.”

Then there are the clear markings on the face — ‘COPY MONEY” written in the upper right-hand corner — and on the back, the word “specimen” that appears vertically, in red.

In some cases, restaurant employees noticed the bill was fake or counterfeit, retained the bill and called police, Maniscalco said. In others, however, the bills were accepted and made it to the banks, where they reported them as counterfeit.

Bend police continue to investigate the crimes and ask anyone with information to call Deschutes County dispatchers at 541-693-6911.

Police distributed photos of bills with markings similar to the fake $20s, but Maniscaco said the serial number it shows is different than the one on the counterfeits collected by police.