Officers say $100 bills made for TV and movies are being used in person-to-person sales. Using them as real cash could lead to felony charges.
ELMENDORF, Texas — The Elmendorf Police Department is warning residents to check their cash carefully after an increase in fake money being passed off as real in southern Bexar County.
The bills, marked “For Motion Picture Purposes,” look like the real thing. They’re actually made for film and TV productions — but police say they’re now being used in real-life transactions.
“It’s what you see on TV, all the bills on TV action movies,” said Sgt. Michael Alonzo with Elmendorf Police. “Even the feel doesn’t feel like real money.”
The department posted a warning on Facebook, urging people to stay alert. While this type of fraud isn’t new, Alonzo said it’s circulating right now in Elmendorf — and reports are on the rise.
So far, officers have investigated cases involving $100 “motion picture” bills. The transactions didn’t happen at businesses — they were person-to-person sales, often through online marketplaces or flea markets.
In one case, a woman discovered the fake money only after trying to pay her water bill at municipal court.
“Unknown to her, she had it among the rest of her money,” Alonzo said. “When we brought it to her attention, she was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t realize I had that.’”
Police couldn’t prosecute either of the recent cases because one victim didn’t know who paid her, and another only had a first name for the buyer.
“You can possess it all you want,” Alonzo said. “You just can’t utilize it as legal tender or try to pass it as legal tender because that’s when you start breaking the law.”
Prop money is legal to buy and can be found online for just a few dollars.
“You can just Google ‘motion picture money for sale,’ and numerous places will come up to buy it,” Alonzo said. “You can buy stacks of it for cents on the dollar.”
He added that the money isn’t technically counterfeit, since it’s not being printed to intentionally mimic real currency — but using it as real money can still lead to criminal charges, ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on the amount involved.
There are subtle clues that give the fake bills away.
“The president may be smiling or making a smirk,” Alonzo explained. “On the top right, where it usually says Federal Reserve Bank, it may say ‘Motion Picture Money.’ On the left side, it may say ‘Not Legal U.S. Tender.’”
And there’s another simple test.
“If it feels funny, it is funny — funny money,” he said. “When you feel it, it just doesn’t feel right.”
Alonzo says education is key — and officers hope their warning helps the community stay a step ahead. They’re also encouraging anyone making sales on Facebook Marketplace or similar sites to verify every bill, especially for large transactions.
“A lot of other agencies throughout the United States are posting similar alerts to their citizens,” Alonzo said. “It’s just one of many scams, per se, that people utilize.”