Prop Money is a great way to enhance your film production and make any shot that involves cash look realistic. However, you have to be careful when buying, using, or owning any fake money, or else you could find yourself in a lot of legal trouble.
The use of counterfeit currency has been on the rise in recent years; this is mainly due to how easy it is to access. Purchasing well crafted hard to detect fake money is no longer difficult, thanks to advanced technology and the internet.
With all the legal issues swirling around counterfeit vs prop movie money today, it is crucial to buy your movie money from a reputable company that follows all legal provisions to ensure your films are successful and not a bust.
Can you get in Trouble for Owing Prop Money?
Owing prop money will not be the sole reason for anyone to get into legal trouble. It is not illegal to own it.
The legal trouble comes into play when you try to use it maliciously, such as selling it as lawful money or using it as real cash. That is when your movie money becomes counterfeit and very illegal.
As long as the replica money is manufactured according to the government’s guidelines to keep fake money out of our economy, you won’t have to worry about having prop movie money in your possession.
Government Guidelines for Having Prop Money
There are many ways prop money makers are creating their currency today to keep themselves and their customers out of trouble. The more legit and professional companies such as BuzzProps LLC take counterfeit issues seriously and make sure their bills follow legal guidelines.
By placing the words “REPLICA” and “THIS NOTE IS NOT LEGAL, IT IS TO BE USED FOR MOTION PICTURE” on all of the fake bills, you ensure that anyone using or being given the money is fully aware they are dealing with replica money.
Other Guidelines to Make Movie Money Less Likely to be Used as Counterfeit.
● Make prop bills coloring a tinge off of the legal bill.
● Change the pictures slightly.
● Make the hologram not work or work to change to “motion picture money”.
● Never give your movie money different serial numbers.
● Use a different textured paper.
It is illegal to make any prop currency look precisely like the real deal unless your bill’s illustration is less than 75% the size of real currency or more than 150%, and it can only be printed on one side.
Where Can you Go to Buy Legal Prop Money?
Many prop movie money companies are available to businesses and individuals that are professional and follow the law to create an amazing product that will give you a great shot but won’t get you in any legal trouble. One of these companies being BuzzProps LLC.
Buzzprops.com
BuzzProps LLC is an amazing company that creates unique and realistic fake currency for all production needs. Their prop money products can fool the viewer’s eye from close up pictures to money blowing in the wind. These bills are so realistic looking no shoot will be ruined by bulky bills or cartoon looking characters.
Although this sounds too good to be true, it is. Even better, they have taken all precautions needed to make sure you are dealing with 100% legal prop movie money, and even if the bill does end up in the wrong hands, you will not be held responsible. This why BuzzProps guarantees all their customers will be satisfied with the products they receive.
BuzzProps is the #1 trusted provider of movie money for big media production companies, and there is a reason for that. It’s because these companies enjoy the peace of mind they received, knowing they are going to have top quality products that will enhance their filming expectations without worrying if the money is legit.
Be Careful of Third Party Sellers
When purchasing motion picture money, make sure it comes straight from reliable manufacturers like BuzzProps or other companies known for selling reputable products. Buying fake money online from places like Amazon or eBay can get you into a legal gamble that you should not be willing to risk.
According to a Secret Service agent, prop money has become the most common counterfeit money used today. Because there are so many motion picture money makers out there who don’t care how illegal their bills are, they want to profit from the sale.
Sadly, when you purchase replica money from a 3rd party seller, and you are found to have counterfeit cash, you are the one who is going to have to deal with the repercussions. It is hard to track down the original seller even through more reputable online third party companies.
Amazon has been under fire multiple times for continuing to sell the fake money that looks real on their site because money purchased through them in the past has been linked to counterfeit actions.
Trouble Prop Movie Money Can You Get in?
There is legal action taken if you get caught manufacturing or using counterfeit cash. The government does not take this lightly, and the punishment is very severe.
Depending on the amount of cash created, your intent on use, and how much of it has made it into the economy will decide how much trouble you can get into. Counterfeiters are subject to 20 years of prison time and $250,000 in fines. These charges can increase depending on the situation.
The sad truth is you can even be punished for possessing counterfeit cash even if you were not aware the prop movie money was illegal or if your prop money was taken and used illegally.
A sad example of this is during the creation of the famous and well-produced film Rush Hour 2 starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. This movie’s famous scene shows an explosion of a Las Vegas casino, causing a storm of bills to fly everywhere. Although this made the movie epic, that money storm also caused a legal storm.
It turns out, many bills were collected by people with ill intent, and the cash was found being used as legal tender at local stores and businesses. This led to the secret services knocking on doors and handing out financial consequences. Not only were millions of dollars in fake money confiscated, but the manufacturing company was fined, and their props were seized.
Not only is the manufacturer suffering from the loss of product, but prop movie money getting into the wrong hands can cause production loss and profit loss of unaware film producers who risk having their props confiscated due to one corrupt individual.
What can you do if someone pays you with Fake Money?
If someone pays you with fake money there are some rules to follow rather than refuse it or take it and accept it thinking it is not your problem or it will be handled by someone else. (which sadly seems to be the thoughts of a lot of people)
● Get a good description of the person who handed you the money
● Place the bill in an envelope or plastic bag and limit the amount of touching to the bill itself.
● Try and keep the owner of the money at your location.
● Do not return the currency to the person who gave it to you.
● Only give the fake bill to the police or a Secret Service agent.
Never put yourself in any danger. Do not confront someone who is giving you counterfeit currency or tries and force them to stay at your store against their will. If you are given a counterfeit bill, and there is nothing you can do at the moment, right your initials along the edge of the bill and note what the person looked like who gave it to you.
Can ATMs Detect Fake Money?
It is doubtful that an ATM would accept a fake bill. Modern currency is created with a magnetic ink pattern and other security features that are detected by the ATMs. If a fake bill is placed into an ATM, it is more likely than not going to be rejected and spit back out, or else the machine will keep it, and your account will be frozen.
Unfortunately, even if you were unaware, the bill was fake. If you get caught using it or trying to deposit it into the bank, you will lose the money and the bill’s value it was meant to replicate.
Can ATMs Give Out Fake Bills?
It is improbable that an ATM will ever spit out a counterfeit bill. However, there is that slim chance that you end up with fake cash after stopping at your local branch or grabbing money at the mall.
Unfortunately, no one has to trade the fake cash you received from an ATM for a real bill. This is mainly because there is no way to know if that bill came from the machine it was said to come from.
If you get a counterfeit bill from a bank you have been doing good business with for a lengthy period, and you have good standings, they may be willing to exchange the fake currency for the real deal. Otherwise, you are out of luck. This is true not only for banks and ATMs but also if you receive money you believe to be fake from a store or employer.
In these cases, you must note where that money came from and never use it. Please give it to the proper authorities. If it does come back as counterfeit, there is a chance they can track down the original source. You can get your money back, and they can stop the counterfeiters in their tracks.
Can Fake money get passed Self-Check Out Machine?
Now more than ever people are relying on do it your self technology to get through the checkout line quicker and safer. This is also a spot where you can try and fool a store into taking fake money to purchase your goods.
Although it’s not very likely these self check out machines will accept any type of prop money cash, it has happened. A grocery store in Michigan found itself dealing with this exact problem in February 2019. This happened when a couple used fake $100.00 bills to purchase small items to receive real currency change. Not only did the couples obtain items illegally, but they also exchanged fake money for the real thing.
Luckily in this situation, they were caught and had to deal with legal charges. However, this is not always the case, and this money could have flooded into the economy like so many other fake bills that were never detected.
Is prop money counterfeit?
The most significant difference between prop money and counterfeit money is the way the money is being used. You can turn even the most wholesome replica money into a counterfeit bill if you are trying to use it to purchase goods.
According to the dictionary, counterfeit money is money that has been replicated by photo-copying printing or designed to imitate real money to be deceptive or malicious.
Using prop movie money created by a reputable company such as BuzzProps LLC can give you a great sense of mind knowing you will not end up facing penalties for being in possession of an illegal movie money prop.
BuzzProps and other companies who value their customers and choose to abide by the law work with guidance from the government and required manufacturing laws to make sure your motion picture money is legal and would never be considered counterfeit.
Is Prop Money Worth Anything?
Unless illegally using prop bills, prop money is not worth any monetary value. Prop dollar bills cannot be used as legal tender in any situation. Using any prop currency to obtain goods or services is illegal and subject to fines and prison time.
Our Take Away
Owning counterfeit money, whether Knowingly or unknowingly, is a crime. If convicted, you will be responsible financially and will likely face jail time if your intentions with that money were malicious. To be safe at all times and to reduce the risk of possessing any counterfeit currency, go to buzzprop.com and obtain the best legal prop money on the market today.
