Kimball Police are investigating reports of counterfeit currency passed through several local businesses. Although government data places the number of fake bills in circulation at any given moment somewhere in the three percent range, local authorities have sensed a slight, but noticeable, increase over the past several months.

“In the middle of summer we started seeing a few more [than usual],” said Dan Chesley, branch manager at Points West Community Bank. “It’s not an epidemic.”

According to police chief Mark Simpson, the first business to notify them of a counterfeit over the summer was Main Street Market. The bill in question was a $50 note.

“It was a five that had been washed and reprinted as a fifty,” Jeremy Gortney, Main Street’s store manager, recalled. One of his checkout clerks brought the suspicious paper to his attention.

“You could tell just by the way it felt,” he explained.

Since then, smaller denominations—mostly $5 and $10 bills—have turned up.

“I don’t believe they’re local in origin,” Simpson added, pointing out the proximity of Interstate 80 and the known preference of counterfeiters to pass their currency in smaller communities, where they assume fewer businesses own pens or other security devices.

Subway is reportedly among other local operations reporting dubious bills.

Simpson warns local retailers to be aware of anomalies, such as the dimensions of a note, duplicate serial numbers (if two bills of the same amount are presented), staining or off color ink tones, as well as the lack of security features.

Chesley points out that counterfeits may also simply feel a little different to the touch, although he admits it is a difficult call.

“They are just not right,” he explained. “That’s something you pick up over years of experience.”

Calls to the state patrol and the FBI could neither confirm nor deny an increase in the number of false bills circulating in the state. Simpson simply urged local businesses to be aware of the problem.

“It has been happening more than normal,” he reiterated.

He did not call it a trend, simply a concern. “We need to protect our businesses by looking out for counterfeits,” Simpson explained.

Fortunately for Main Street Market, the tainted $50 bill has been the only counterfeit they have recognized since mid-summer. Before this particular incident, Gortner rarely encountered a phony.

“For us it hadn’t been a big problem,” he said.

Still, the bill turned over by the grocery store and the few others noticed by local merchants is enough to warrant some concern. Simpson urges clerks and store managers to be aware of the issue.

The police department will provide local business owners with training on how to identify suspect currency.