OXFORD, Ohio -- All it took was a scanner and some skill.

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Two Arrests Made In Counterfeit Case

But now, two college students in southwestern Ohio are facing federal charges of counterfeiting, Cincinnati TV station WLWT reported Tuesday.

Several merchants in Oxford said they've been victimized in recent weeks. From bars to bookstores, many have received several hundred dollars in denominations in counterfeit bills from $5 to $20.

"It felt almost like a brand-new bill," Eric Doan, who works at a campus bar, said. "We usually crumple new bills up so they don't stick together. But we put one of them aside because there was something noticeably wrong with it."

Doan said that on most nights, his dimly lit bar is packed with people, so paying close attention to the look or texture of a bill isn't something he and his co-workers normally do, WLWT reported.

Another clerk down the street didn't just set aside the bogus bill he received; he called his customer out right there on the spot.

"He was very nervous when I questioned him about where he got the money," Michael Pumphrey said. "I told the police that. I guess from there, because of his nervousness, they thought he might know something."

Investigators said the man who gave Pumphrey the funny money was Nicholas Kirincic (pictured, above), WLWT reported. Police believe he worked with Miami sophomore Tori Traficante (pictured, above right), from whom they confiscated a scanner, printer and two computers that were in her on-campus dormitory room. Both suspects now face felony charges.

Police have recovered some of the money but warned merchants in the area that there's likely lots more floating around.