Counterfeit Money Circulates Tahlequah

Fake cash is making the rounds in Tahlequah and businesses are paying close attention to the money customers hand them.

Police say it's difficult to spot the problem with the cash just by looking at it. 

They say several businesses on Downing Street are reporting counterfeit money. 

Tahlequah police said they’ve taken 14 reports in just the last 3 days. 

Thursday, a woman stopped by to report she received a fake $20 bill. 

But convenience stores are losing a lot more. 

"In one night - lost $280," said Tahlequah Police Detective Elden Graves. 

Convenience store “Big B” employees check every bill with a counterfeit pen.

Store manager Danielle says they've always done this.

"Even before the nonsense," he said. 

It's hard to tell just by looking at, but you can tell which one is fake by feeling it. 

“Just by picking it up, people should be able to know that it's not real," said Detective Graves.

"Some of them feel like construction paper," said Danielle. 

Danielle didn't want to be shown on camera for fear of retaliation, especially after an encounter with someone who may be involved in distributing the fake cash.

"A guy actually just brought it into me handed it to me and said 'here, I don't want to be in this business anymore.' And left it with me and I took it to the bank," Danielle said. 

Employees' careful attention to detail, Graves says, is making a difference in getting the fake money off the streets of Tahlequah. 

The Cherokee County sheriff's office said it is also seeing an uptick in counterfeit money.