A $5 lesson in counterfeiting

The first rule in making or using counterfeit money: Don't. It's against the law.

The second rule: Finish school.

Des Moines police recently seized more than $6,000 in fake cash that could fool only someone who had never seen cash before.

Detectives said some of the bills were $5 bills altered to look like $100 bills -- if a $100 bill should have a dim image of Abraham Lincoln on half the bill. Or if a $100 bill is supposed to have Ben Franklin's picture on both sides of the paper.

Three people, who presumably have heightened respect for the intricate art of engraving, have been arrested for passing the counterfeit bills.

The federal prison sentences they face are all too real.