Drivers on U.S. 26 were greeted Tuesday afternoon with a scene straight out of a bank heist movie: $100 bills flying out of a car's window and down the highway.

Don't get too excited by the prospect of picking up the cash from the side of the road, though. Beaverton police say the money is counterfeit -- and "really bad" counterfeit at that.

Officers received a report about bills flying from a car on eastbound U.S. 26 near Southwest Murray Boulevard at 12:48 p.m., police spokesman Officer Mike Rowe said in a news release. When officers arrived, they found counterfeit bills scattered across the highway.

Officers had no trouble recognizing the money was fake. The bills had Chinese characters on them and were thin and slick, Rowe said.

"They do not feel anything close to a real $100 bill," Rowe said in the news release.

Police have received reports of people attempting to use similar counterfeit bills in the area, Rowe said.

Police did not see any car with fake money flying out and do not have a suspect vehicle description.

On Twitter, Rowe urged people not to "chase fake money across the HWY," adding, "It's not worth it."

"If someone accepted this as real," Rowe said in the news release, "it would be clear they were not paying any attention."

-- Samantha Matsumoto

503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto55