BBB warns of fake $100 bills

The Connecticut Better Business Bureau is warning retailers and consumers about phony $100 bills in circulation throughout the state after one was used at a Southeastern Connecticut retailer.

The warning from the bureau does not specify the retailer or when the fake bill was used.

The counterfeit $100 bill started out as a legitimate $5 bill that was changed when the counterfeiters used a technique that involves bleaching money and altering the bill, the bureau said in the warning it issued Thursday.

Phony bills can be detected by holding them up to a light and looking for a holograph of the face image that matches the original. The light should also reveal a thin, vertical strip with text that spells out the bill's denomination.