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Thief pays 9-year-old Spokane girl with a fake $50 bill

A 9-year-old girl received a fake $50 bill for an Xbox she sold online. Now, her parents want to remind others to be careful when receiving cash.

SPOKANE, Wash. — A 9-year-old girl received a fake $50 bill from the person she sold her Xbox to on Tuesday night. 

Her parents want others to be aware of fake money people use when paying for items on Facebook Marketplace.

William Murphy describes his daughter Alexis as a vibrant, smart young girl. She enjoys spending time outdoors but will tell you she also doesn't mind "geeking" out in an activity typically dominated by boys.

"She plays a lot of Minecraft on there and she wants to be like the 'Pat and Jen' of the world, she wants to post videos and have fun,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he teaches his daughter the value of money and hard work. When she asked to upgrade her Xbox, he said she'll have to wait until Christmas or save up her money.

"I just put it out there as a challenge, see if you can sell your old equipment,” he explained.

RELATED: Bank employee: Counterfeit $100 bills are circulating around Spokane

Murphy let her sell it on Facebook Marketplace and right away Alexis got an offer. Everything seemed to check out, so they met in the parking lot near Mission Park.

"I mean there was really no indication that she was planning this,” Murphy said.

The woman gave the family a $50 bill in exchange for the game console and drove off. Later that night, the Murphys learned the money had no value.

"They marked it with a marker and it turned the wrong color and she told her it was fake,” he said.

The family has actually been to the Witter pool before to sell their things on Facebook Marketplace. They usually end up with a little bit of cash for the things they're trying to get rid of, but this time they left empty-handed.

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Murphy said his daughter, Alexis, was in tears. While this father teaches his daughter to see the good in people, he had to explain that not everyone makes good choices.

"To know that there are people out there that, that want to just rip you off, you know they are not good people,” Murphy said.

The family reported it to police, but there's not much they can do. Spokane police said they are not seeing an increase in counterfeit money, but it's always a possibility. Officers said you should use a PayPal account or use your own counterfeit detection marker to check if cash is real to protect yourself. 

RELATED: Police warn of counterfeit cash being used at Spokane businesses

Murphy said he will have to save up to buy his daughter an Xbox and will have to be careful the next time they sell online.

"When people use it like this, it just ruins it for everybody,” he said.

What can you do if you think you've received fake money? The Spokane Police Department said you should file a police report, but also let the Secret Service know because they track fake money and will open an investigation if there's a trend circulating in our area.

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