If you're going to be doing any shopping over the next month you'll want to make sure you're paying close attention to your cash. That's because some local businesses are seeing an increase in counterfeit cash is popping up. Our Karen Hopkins has how you can spot a fake before it’s your loss.

Alisa Thomason came from Ruston to Shreveport to find her niece the perfect Christmas gift. She had no idea, a Youree drive business told Nbc 6 it called police this week after receiving counterfeit cash. "I haven't really thought about it, but I guess it is a possibility. My husband works in banking and he says they have a lot of that happen especially this time of year.

Tis the season for shopping. But the government has tips on how you can spot fake bills:
http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/money_detect.shtml
If you look closely, genuine currency paper has tiny red and blue fibers. Counterfeiters try to simulate those marks by printing tiny dots instead. On a genuine bill, the saw-tooth points of the Federal Reserve and Treasury seals are clear, distinct, and sharp. Phony seals may have uneven, blunt, or broken saw-tooth points.

“You hear about it in really big cities but you never think about it being so close to home." Still, cashier Benji Nelson says he holds large bills up to the light. Real cash has a bar on the left side. He checks because getting fooled could cost him.

“I would be upset, but you can't expect anyone to change it for you; so the loss is yours,” Thomason says. Shreveport police say if you get counterfeit cash, there's no guarantee you'll get any real money back.

If you've found counterfeit cash, call police first.

Write your initials and the date in the white border of the bill. Don't pass it around to others. That could hurt fingerprint evidence. Place the fake money in an envelope.