TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed on Monday that male persons appearing to be foreigners have brought a number of counterfeit U.S. $100 bills to foreign exchange shops in the capital in recent weeks, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 30).
On October 27, several such men arrived at a shop in Shibuya Ward with fake bills. Since the beginning of last month, more than a few dozen fake bills are known to have been passed at shops. Police are now seeking to determine the source of the funny money.
Tomohiko Endo, an expert on counterfeit currency, has had employees from shops approach him to check bills appearing to be questionable as to origin. He said the fake bills he has handled have had designs that match the original.
According to police, making matters more difficult is that the fake bills are able to pass scrutiny of magnetic machines that detect counterfeit currency.
