ST. MARTINVILLE — Movie props are supposed to look real on film, but some enterprising criminals have brought fake movie cash into the real world.

According to a St. Martinville Police Department spokesman, prop money has been used in multiple purchases over the last month, generally when buyers are purchasing items from people through online shopping sites.

Although it may look real, the counterfeit currency is designed for use in motion pictures and is clearly marked as such. One hundred pieces of $100 prop bills can be easily purchased from retail sites like propmoney.com.

Police said the main targets of the scam have been exchanges of electronics, like video game equipment and cell phones.

The SMPD has created a Safe Exchange Location in front of the police headquarters building on New Market Street for people selling items to unknown buyers through an online service, such as Facebook Marketplace. Surveillance cameras monitor the Safe Exchange Location 24 hours a day.

According to the department’s spokesman, the safe exchange sites have been proven to deter scam artists across the nation.