LAKELAND, Fla. – Tampa has become a hotspot for counterfeit currency, and consumers are paying the price, reports The Ledger.

A couple cashed a paycheck at a local Sunoco store and later found out that one of their $100 bills was a fake, complete with a watermark, security strip with the proper writing on it, and the color-shifting ink. They even dipped the corner in bleach, like a friend who works at a convenience store recommended, and the ink didn’t bleed – just like a real note, writes the newspaper. However, when they took the bill back to the Sunoco store, the clerk could tell it was a fake from the feel of the bill.

John Joyce, special agent in charge at the Secret Service field office in Tampa, has received 484 reports of fake currency from Polk County in 2007 – more than three reports a day. Joyce’s office alone takes anywhere between $7,000 and $11,000 a week in “funny money,” usually one or two notes at a time.

Computers have made counterfeiting a lot easier than in the past. “These days, with the help of scanners and copiers, you can make a reasonably good facsimile,” Joyce told the newspaper.

Because of the new technologies, many modern counterfeiters are small groups and individuals. “It runs the full gamut between minors, kids who try their hands at it, to adults of all ages,” Joyce said.

Businesses are under no obligation to refund a fake bill once the customer walks away. “Know what those security features are, look at your notes quickly,” Joyce said. “The last person holding it is the person responsible for it."