Cullman City Police aren’t anticipating an arrest made in connection to a counterfeit $100 bill reported by First Southern Financial Services Monday, Aug. 19.

CPD Chief Dave Nassetta said the department receives reports of counterfeit currency fairly often. However, the nature of the complaints typically makes arrests difficult.

“We get a fair amount of counterfeit bills. It comes and goes, but usually what happens is when a store or something is going through the register at the end of the night and the cashier will notice that a bill kind of feels funny or something,” Nassetta said. “A lot of times we don’t really have a place to start because somebody just finds them already in circulation.”

While fewer people use cash for daily transactions, Nassetta said because counterfeit notes cannot be exchanged for a genuine one, it is important to remain vigilant at the time of transactions.

The Federal Reserve warns that widely available counterfeit detection pens are not consistently reliable and can deliver false results. Instead, it suggests relying on the built-in security features printed on U.S. currency such as watermarks and security threads.

An overview of these features can be found online at uscurrency.gov/.

Nassetta also suggested relying on one’s own instincts and senses. He said even the best counterfeiters will have a difficult time replicating the nuances which can be detected by human perception.

“They just don’t feel the same as regular bills. Currency is printed on a specific type of paper. Most of the time they will look really good but when it comes across someone’s hand it just won’t feel quite right,” Nassetta said.

Nassetta said one of the best ways to avoid accidentally receiving counterfeit currency is to use trusted sources when cash is necessary.

“I would suggest going with your bank or the ATM because in most cases that cash is screened. You can feel pretty good about getting it from an institution,” Nassetta said.