TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese police have been scratching their heads in bewilderment over the country's latest counterfeiting trend -- fake bills that cost more to make than their face value.Experts estimate that it cost 1,000 yen ($9.10) to make each of the more than 400 bogus 1,000 yen notes that have turned up in vending machines in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, suggesting profit was not the motive, the Asahi newspaper's English-language edition reported Tuesday.
"Police suspect a techno-maniac is involved," the Asahi said.
The fake bills are made by replacing the middle strip of genuine notes with a color photocopy, and securing them with tape. To the human eye they are obviously bogus, but they fool some older vending machines.
