Edmonton police warning public about counterfeit bills

(WATCH: Thousands of dollars in counterfeit cash have been seized by Edmonton police. As Vinesh Pratap reports, it’s sparking a warning.)

EDMONTON – Edmonton police are telling merchants to be on the lookout for counterfeit U.S. $100 bills, after an increase of reports to police.

“We’ve seen a drastic increase with the reduction of Canadian paper currency that’s out within the market,” says Det. Bill Allen, with the EPS economic crimes section. “We’re down to actually one-third. So 67 per cent of currency out in circulation in Canada is now all polymer. So, with that window closing for counterfeiters, they’ve turned to U.S. notes.”

Allen says it’s hard for retailers to train staff on the different features of notes, particularly when it comes to foreign currency.

“Retailers are not obligated to accept any foreign currency for goods sold. It’s entirely their choice.”

“We want retailers across the city to be aware and to remain vigilant, especially as we head in to the busy holiday shopping season,” Allen adds.

Economic crimes detectives are investigating several incidents involving the counterfeit notes.

“We’ve had two series of notes. We had one that came out August/September,” says Allen. He says that series contained a lot of $20 and $50 notes that were produced in Saskatchewan. The people responsible for that series have been arrested and charges have been laid for the passing of notes in the Edmonton area.

Allen says there’s another series of notes currently in circulation in the Edmonton area.

“The series that is currently out is the passing of $100 U.S. notes.”

Allen says a man is believed to responsible for passing the counterfeit bills at big box stores. He’s using the fake bills to purchase electronics and gift cards.

Police say 120 counterfeit U.S. $100 bills with similar serial numbers have been used in the Edmonton area.

Allen says there are a few ways to tell the difference between a real and counterfeit bill: the feel, the quality of the bill, the colour-shifting ink, and a fake bill will be missing the security ribbon.