FBI special agent Joe Auther who was one of the guest speakers during the Saipan Rotary Club meeting at the Hyatt Tuesday, said counterfeit currency is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Secret Service.
“We get phone calls from time to time from store cashiers somewhere who received counterfeit currency but I’m not aware of this as a major issue here,” Auther said.
He said businesspersons and cashiers can be trained by federal agents so they can easily spot fake money.
“Training for cashiers and businesspeople can be easily arranged to help them spot counterfeit bills easily, but again, we are not aware of that being a big problem here,” Auther said.
Early in 2009, the Department of Public Safety and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce joined efforts and invited two U.S. special agents to conduct training in detecting fake currency following reports that the circulation of fake money was becoming a growing concern.
DPS earlier said advanced technology had made it easier for the perpetrators to print out counterfeit money and circulate it on island.
DPS said the rise in the circulation of counterfeit money usually go hand in hand with the increase in drug-related and burglary cases.
Most of the counterfeit bills in circulation were in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 dollars.
