A counterfeit $10 bill was confiscated Jan. 6 by Chelsea Police after it was discovered at a store in the 1200 block of South Main.

Police were called to the location at 9 p.m. for “a report of an attempt to pass a counterfeit bill,” according to the report.

A waitress at a business outside of the city received the counterfeit bill as a tip, said Ed Toth, Chelsea chief of police. She then tried to spend it, and that's when it was discovered to be fake.

“No criminal wrongdoing was done by the passer of the bill,” police said.

Although many stores have special pens that are used to check the validity of currency, Toth said many people in the service industry who receive tips probably don't have them.

"If it doesn't look right or feel right, chances are it's counterfeit," he said.

The worst part of the scenario, he added, is that the person who received the counterfeit bill is then out the money.

Chelsea police said they “might see a couple (counterfeit bills) a year.”

A man was arrested in 2009 in Chelsea for passing a fake bill, and there have been several reports across the county in the last few years about people trying to pass funny money.

Also in the last couple of years, there were also fake $20 bills passed in Saline, prompting police to issue an alert to business owners.

The bill was taken as evidence by police and will be turned over to the United States Secret Service.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.