The federal govenrment wants you to look for impostors in your wallet. The U.S. Secret Service confiscated $182 million worth of funny money in 2009, and it's counting on the public to get more of it out of circulation, according to Consumer Reports Money Adviser.
The Secret Service offers an online guide, available at www.startribune.com/a342, for comparing real and phony bank notes. You'd have to use a magnifying glass to see some of these clues: The portrait looks flat, the edges of serial numbers look fuzzy and there are no tiny blue and red hairs embedded in the paper.
If you end up with counterfeit money, typically it's your loss. Trying to foist it off on someone else is a crime.
Do you ever check your cash to see if it's phony?
