Brunswick, Maine, Police Warn Residents About Fake Money in Rotation

In an era where most money scams involve some type of digital hacking (whether it's actually hacking into someone's bank account or installing a fake card reader somewhere to get all their PIN info), there's an OG money scam that still exists.

Counterfeit bills.

And even though not many people use cash much anymore, there have been a couple of counterfeit bill scams throughout Northern New England in the last few years.

Sanford, Maine Counterfeit Bills

Back in August 2021, Sanford, Maine police gave the public a heads up that a batch of counterfeit bills was being circulated through the area, with suspects trying to pass off fake $20s in convenience stores.

Barrington, NH Counterfeit Bills

Around the same time (and it's completely possible these incidents were connected because they're geographically close to each other), police in Barrington, New Hampshire alerted the public of counterfeit $100s trying to be passed off as well.

Fast forward almost two years later to present day, and fake cash is being passed around in Maine all over again.

Brunswick, Maine Counterfeit Bills

Over the last couple of days, Brunswick, Maine police have posted messages on their Facebook page about reports of counterfeit bills making the rounds in the area.

While they didn't mention what businesses reported having fake bills passed off to them (or at least attempted to be), Brunswick PD did mention that they've received multiple complaints from local businesses, so they're definitely out there.

To help the public identify possible fake bills, Brunswick PD posted cheat sheets on how to identify fake bills of multiple denominations, including:

$50 Bills

$20 Bills

And even $5 Bills

Brunswick Police also mentioned there is an app that can help you identify if any of the cash you have on you is counterfeit, and the Secret Service has an overly-detailed breakdown of how to spot a counterfeit bill of every denomination between $5 and $100.