FAIRBURY, Neb. -- Plenty of movies use fake money, made to look real. But what happens when fake money is used—not in Hollywood—but in real businesses?

Recently, Sheriff Nick Georgi has seen two different instances of counterfeit money used at two different Fairbury establishments.

“These two bills that were passed in Fairbury recently, they were passed in two different establishments,” Georgi said. “They were both $50 bills.”

In both instances, the counterfeit money was not detected at the time it was received, because there were too many customers in the store.

“Criminals are good,” Georgi said. “They are not going to come into an establishment when there is no one in there. They are going to come into an establishment when it is busy. When a cashier at a convenience store or gas station is busy. That way they are not paying much attention to the bill.”

Usually, counterfeit bills aren’t caught until after the transaction has been made. 

“It’s not caught at the time of the transaction,” Georgi said. “In most cases, it is caught when the money goes to the bank to get deposited and it goes through a counting machine. That’s when the bills are usually caught.”

Some ways that you can tell if it is fake money is if there is a white part on it that looks as though somebody scratched the bill. Also, it will say for movie prop use only on the front and back.

Criminals can purchase fake money in any amount. Georgi said, if it doesn’t feel or look right, take that extra second. 

“I know a lot of these convenience stores or gas stations get busy,” Georgi said. “If it doesn’t feel right or look right, just take the time to look at it a little bit more."