Locally, we have seen a recent surge of funny money being passed from person-to-person, and person-to-store, and so forth. It's a national epidemic that hits even close to home.

To combat the ever-increasing counterfeit activity in this age of better digital technology, the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing unveiled a new $5 bill, which is touted as being "safer, smarter, and more secure." It also marks the first time the government has unveiled a new bill entirely online.

You can visit the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing's website to learn more about the new $5 bill being introduced at:

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/flash/5Curren...

Before you say it, I know what you're thinking: why even bother with redesigning a measly $5 bill? After all, if a person is going to counterfeit money and risk very long jail sentences for doing so, they should go after printing the big bucks, right?

Well, it seems there's a method of counterfeiting that removes the ink from a $5 bill and prints over it to create a fake $100 bill. So, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is issuing the new bills in an effort to eliminate the similarities between the $5 and $100 bills to foil this counterfeiting method, among other reasons.

It goes to reinforce the age-old adage of "where there's a will, there's a way…" I guess.

To learn more in general, an interactive tutorial is also available to show the security and design features of the new $10, $20, and $50 bills being produced now at:

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/main.cfm/curr...

You should get to know the new bills, so counterfeiters don't take advantage of you too.