Detectives are trying to identify a “person of interest” in a case involving counterfeit $100 bills that have been passed at several Whidbey Island businesses.

Lt. Mike Beech with the Island County Sheriff’s Office created a sketch of the woman, based on the memory of a store clerk who accepted a bogus bill.

The woman of interest is described as a white adult, five-foot-six to five-foot-eight, 125 to 135 pounds, plain blue eyes, and sandy brown 1980s-style hair. Anyone who may recognize the woman should call the Sheriff’s Office at 675-4422.

Detective Ed Wallace, the spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said at least five counterfeit $100 bills have been passed at Whidbey businesses this month — two in Freeland, two in Clinton and one in Oak Harbor.

The high-quality fakes were made from actual U.S. currency paper. The counterfeiters washed the ink off of $5 bills and reprinted them as $100 bills.

An alert clerk in Clinton first noticed a fake bill, which seemed limp, on Jan. 17. Deputies arrested a 45-year-old Freeland woman on suspicion of securities fraud, according to the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

Counterfeiting $100 bills isn’t very smart, detectives say, because they are subject to greater scrutiny than smaller denominations, like $20 bills.

Wallace warns businesses on the island to be on the look-out for bogus bills. A good way to identify a fake $100 bill is that the watermark — a ghost image that appears when held to the light — shows the face of Abraham Lincoln, who should appear on a $5 bill. Ben Franklin appears on the $100.

Wallace said investigators suspect that the actual counterfeiting operation may be in Snohomish County, though they haven’t ruled out the possibility of a Whidbey money-printing ring.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.