BY PAM LOBELY

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NOW THAT'S FUNNY

Counterfeit money has been showing up at many locations around New Jersey this summer and police are working with the Secret Service to track down the criminals.

According to My Fox NY, two pharmacies in Wyckoff reported receiving phony $100 bills for purchases. One pharmacy detected it immediately, the other one did not discern the fake, and was later alerted when their bank found it.

The counterfeiters are using a tried and true method to make their money – they bleach smaller denominations, in this case, a five dollar bill, until all the ink is removed. Then they reprint it to look like a $100 bill.

The funny money has been seen around New Jersey for several weeks now – including the Boardwalk at Ocean City, and at a Walmart in Linden. As reported at nj.com, two men were caught and arrested at that Walmart when they tried to spend the counterfeit c-notes. “C-note” is old-timey slang for $100 bill and is often used in a hard-hitting crime reporting story like this one.

Although the bleach method removes all the ink off an original bill, it cannot change the watermark. On a forged $100 bill, you can still see the watermark of Abraham Lincoln, whereas on a real $100 bill, the watermark would be of Benjamin Franklin.

Merchants are being warned to be on the lookout for these bills, and can even go to www.secretservice.gov to print out a color version of the real thing.

Could you tell if a $100 bill is real? Here are some ways to spot the fakes being passed in New Jersey:

Ben Franklin’s hair is really big.

When you hold it up to the light it starts to get a tan.

Instead of “In God We Trust” it says “You Gotta Problem With That?”

On the back, instead of a picture of Independence Hall – there is a picture of the Meadowlands.

It’s signed by Joe Piscopo.

It smells like a funnel cake.

Most thieves using the $100 bills try to make a small purchase so that they get back the maximum amount of (real) change. Businesses should be suspicious whenever $100 bills are used and call the police if they suspect a forgery. Like for instance, if the watermark of Lincoln has zinc oxide on his nose.

Pam Lobley writes the “Now That’s Funny” column. Her book, “You Definitely Know You’re a Mom When …” is now available on Kindle. Follow her on Twitter @plobley.

RECENT COLUMNS BY PAM LOBLEY

Sick of mowing? Meadow is the new lawn

Dirt and germs: A mother's worst nightmare, a kid's immune system's best friend