HOWELL, Mich. (WXYZ) — Small businesses in downtown Howell are on high alert after a new wave of fake cash started hitting registers. Several shops have been impacted and say the counterfeit bills are affecting their bottom line as the holiday season ramps up.
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I spoke with two small business owners who say they're keeping their guard up against the fraudulent currency.
M Street Bakery tells me they're a victim of counterfeit cash. The fake $100 bill wasn't noticed until they went to deposit it at the bank. They're hoping police catch the deceitful shoppers sooner rather than later.
Emily Mazaris, owner of M Street Bakery Co., described the impact on local businesses.
"It hurts small businesses. It hurts, really, any business when something like that happens," Mazaris said.
Several local shops in downtown Howell have been seeing a trend of counterfeit cash coming into their stores.
"Whether they bought a $3 item and got $97 real dollars back, or they bought $100 worth of real items. We still lose out in the end," Mazaris said.
Mazaris told me the situation is upsetting, and they are now taking precautions when accepting cash.
"We have chosen to just not accept anymore of the old-style $100 bills for right now," Mazaris said.
Just around the corner at the sandwich shop, The Crunchy Pickle, they've encountered the same problem.
Andrea Sydor, owner of Crunchy Pickle, said her staff was deeply affected by the incident.
"Our staff was devastated," Sydor said.
Sydor and her husband own the sandwich shop. Despite being approached three times, they only fell victim once.
"These bills do pass the marker test. We do use markers on $100 bills, but it does pass it, and we kind of noticed later that clearly the bill was a fake," Sydor said.
Sydor said the person only ordered something small off the menu.
"We're preparing it. They walk out with the change. They're ordering something small off the menu, and they never come back for their order," Sydor said.
There are three ways you can spot a fake bill: feel the bill, tilt the note, check with light, or take the bill to a local bank.
"We are aware of the counterfeiting activity, but cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. If you suspect counterfeit money, do not spend it, and report it to your local police, Livingston County sheriff's office, or the local U.S. Secret Service field office," said Howell Police Chief Michael Dunn.
Sydor has a message for the people using these counterfeit bills.
"I hope they do get caught and they learn the lesson of what that means to not only small businesses and this community as well, and all of our staff members," Sydor said.
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