New Martinsville Police welcome any help in identifying the female pictured who was a passenger in the blue truck in the additional photo. She allegedly left a counterfeit bill to pay for gas.

New Martinsville Police Chief Tim Cecil warns local businesses and residents to beware of receiving counterfeit money.

He said in the past three weeks his department knows of four instances where counterfeit bills were passed. At one business a clerk laughed at the poorly made bills and sent the would-be thief on his/her way. However later they returned and a different clerk accepted a fake bill of an even larger denomination.

Cecil said his department is finding the bills to be in $10, $20, and $100 denominations. They are fairly obviously fake, he added. “They’re cut short; they’re smaller,” explained Cecil.

In another instance a woman cashed a check at a business in Pine Grove that had just gotten its money from a bank. The woman then tried to use the bills in a New Martinsville business who found they were counterfeit. “So those passed through a bank,” explained Cecil.

Most recently, some counterfeit money was hastily left at Speedway’s counter Tuesday at approximately 9:15 a.m. However the store employees got the license plate number of the offender.

“We’re working on getting it,” promised Cecil. “We want businesses to check their money.”

If anyone has an information that could lead to the arrest of the person(s) making or passing counterfeit money, please contact the NMPD at 304-455-9100. Also, the same number should be called by any business that took or refused counterfeit bills.