CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than a million dollars in counterfeit money is passed through Charlotte every year.
The U.S. Secret Service showed anchor Allison Latos on Tuesday why the bills are hard to spot, and how they're working to make sure you can trust your money is legit.
The Secret Service said it's trying to stop fake bills from circulating through the city and that means tracking criminals not only in Charlotte, but huge operations overseas.
Authorities have boxes with more than $1.5 million in phony bills passed through Charlotte and Matt Quinn with the Secret Service said that is from just one year.
Quinn said he has seen the money in every denomination, but mostly $20 bills.
Quinn said they've opened investigations from Charlotte to South America trying to catch counterfeit creators.
Typically, the local operations are going to be digitally produced low-quality counterfeit but there are also see large scale organized groups.
That money is made overseas many times and smuggled into the U.S.
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