"This is Lieutenant Harmon with the sheriff's office. Your register has been flagged for counterfeit $100 bills. Bag all the cash. Do not hang up, or it breaks the recording."
Here's a hypothetical, and everyone in it is made up, "Lieutenant Harmon" included. Jess (made up) is 19 and closing alone at Pellbrook Tacos (a made-up taqueria). It's 8:40 p.m. The caller has a case number. He knows the owner's name. He reads back her mom's street address.
Then he says the owner already knows.
So Jess bags $1,840 from the drawer, the cash meant to cover Monday's MCA debit. He texts her a barcode and sends her to a discount store to have it scanned and hand over the money "for verification."
Her phone buzzes in the parking lot. It's the owner. He has no idea what she's talking about.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
This scam is moving right now. On October 9, 2026, the Morning Sentinel reported a Jefferson County Sheriff's Office warning: callers posing as officers claim a business took counterfeit money, then demand gift cards or barcode payments. In an August case there, a fake deputy kept an ice cream shop employee on the phone about 45 minutes and sent her store to store, loading $500 at a time. The shop lost $1,500.
In September, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff's Office said a fake lieutenant told a store employee to drive the register cash to another store "for evidence," reciting her parents' names and addresses to sound real. Her boss called and turned her around. On October 3, KATV reported Little Rock police warning of callers posing as FBI agents and U.S. Marshals demanding payment from businesses.
In a 2026 public service announcement, the FBI counted nearly 61,000 law enforcement or government impersonation complaints from January 2025 to July 2026, with losses over $1.6 billion.
Red flags
"Your business took counterfeit money" plus pressure to act now (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office).
Cash moved off-site, gift cards, a barcode scan, or a crypto ATM. Real officers don't ask for any of that (FBI, FTC, Clay County Sheriff's Office, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office).
Stay on the line, don't call the boss or the bank (FBI, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office).
Caller ID shows a real department, or they know names and addresses. Numbers get spoofed and details come from public records and leaks (FTC, Clay County Sheriff's Office).
What to do
One rule for every shift: nobody leaves with the drawer because of a phone call. Tape it by the register.
Hang up. Don't call back the number they gave. Call your local police using a number you look up yourself (FTC, FBI).
A real fake bill is boring. The Federal Reserve says notify local police, keep the note apart, and hand it to them. Your bank can help check it (Secret Service). Nobody needs your drawer.
If money already left, move fast. Gift card or barcode load: call the card company, say a scammer tricked you, ask for a refund. Crypto ATM: contact the operator. Bank transfer: ask your bank to reverse it (FTC). Then report to local police, ic3.gov, and ReportFraud.FTC.gov. If the loss means the next MCA debit will bounce, call your funder before it hits.
Back in the lot, Jess (made up) deletes the text, turns the car around, and puts the $1,840 back in the safe.
More in the Scam Report.
Sources:
- Morning Sentinel, JCSO counterfeit scam warning (Oct. 9, 2026): https://www.morningsentinel.com/news/jcso-warns-of-counterfeit-currency-scam-d96341c6
- Morning Sentinel, ice cream shop case (Aug. 13, 2026): https://www.morningsentinel.com/news/twisted-twins-ice-cream-shop-scammed-out-of-1500-e460b276
- KCTV5, Clay County Sheriff's Office (Sept. 3, 2026): https://www.kctv5.com/2026/09/03/scam-alert-suspect-pretends-be-law-enforcement-tries-convince-businesses-hand-over-cash/
- KATV, Little Rock police (Oct. 3, 2026): https://katv.com/news/local/little-rock-police-warns-of-new-scam-targeting-business-owners
- FBI IC3 alert: https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2026/PSA260917
- FTC, fake local law enforcement: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/06/scammers-are-impersonating-local-law-enforcement
- FTC, What To Do if You Were Scammed: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
- Federal Reserve, counterfeit notes: https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12597.htm
- U.S. Secret Service, counterfeit: https://www.secretservice.gov/investigations/counterfeit