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Counterfeit bills at Athens area bank linked to Georgia-Florida in Jacksonville

A bank near the University of Georgia received more than a dozen counterfeit bills after Georgia-Florida weekend, officials said.

The Oconee State Bank told deputies several customers came into the bank with the counterfeit bills this week.

All of the customers visited Jacksonville during Georgia-Florida weekend, officials said.

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A police department in Watkinsville, Georgia said officers got reports of quite a few counterfeit $20 bills at banks.

The common link, all were from fans who spent money and got change back during Georgia-Florida weekend.

"Color copiers and printers do a pretty good job of turning the fake currency into bills that look pretty close," Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said.

Carson said counterfeiters often target large events where a lot of cash is used.

"So it’s very difficult to find out where these bills are coming from and who’s passing them," he said.

Action News Jax spoke to Jon Mroz who owns several businesses in downtown Jacksonville.

Mrozs said his businesses did not see any counterfeit bills this weekend.

With more big events like the fair and Navy-Notre Dame game this weekend, he said they are always on the watch for bad money.

"We always have a counterfeit checker and we check the money at the end of the night,” he said. "The last thing we want to see here is somebody leaving here coming to find out the next day that they have counterfeit bills.”

Police in Georgia told Action News Jax the counterfeit bills are poor quality and have a lot of the same serial numbers.

Action News Jax asked authorities in Gainesville and Jacksonville if any counterfeit bills have been reported. We are waiting for a response.

Oconee State Bank has advised us that several customers have come into the bank with counterfeit bills. Each of the customers was in Jacksonville, FL, this past weekend.

Posted by Oconee County Georgia Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, November 2, 2016

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The bank near the University of Georgia said all of the customers with counterfeit bills visited Jacksonville during Georgia-Florida weekend:

Posted by Action News Jax on Wednesday, November 2, 2016

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