Winnipeg police say they’ve seen a marked increase in counterfeit cash around the city in recent months and are urging residents to keep an eye out for phony bills.
“We haven’t seen counterfeiting issues to this level in almost a generation,” said Sgt. Trevor Thompson of the WPS Financial Crimes Division.
In the first quarter of the year alone, police said, they’ve seized $12,000 in counterfeit cash and have received more than double the number of reports of funny money. Most of the scams, they say, likely originate from outside of Canada and tend to involve denominations of $20, $50 and $100 banknotes.
Police said the fraudulent cash tends to replicate the look and feel of real banknotes, including replicating some of the security features, so it can be difficult to determine whether the cash in your wallet is the real deal or not.
Thompson says they’ve made arrests, but it’s hard to trace.
“The complexity and the volume of notes and the location where they’re coming from, it’s not an easy fix,” Thompson said.
To accurately identify a phony bill, police said you can look for a slight colour difference, or for the images on the note seemingly starting to wear off. Notes becoming creased in the middle — similar to a paper note rather than the current polymer bills — is also a tell, as is the holographic strip being raised slightly.
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The counterfeit cash that is currently being seized by police also includes serial numbers GJR710018 through GJR710022. Anyone who thinks they may have a counterfeit note is asked to contact their bank or the Bank of Canada for confirmation.
Cobra Collectibles owner Mike Paille says he experienced one encounter that made him change his policy.
“They wanted to buy a two-dollar thing and they were trying to cash a hundred (dollar bill),” Paille said. “I just wouldn’t accept it and the bill just didn’t look right.”
He says he’s stopped accepting 100 dollar bills as a result.
“Having a counterfeit 20 is one thing, having a counterfeit 100 for a small business, that’s a lot of money to deal with.”
Mike Williams, who owns Korner Stop Foods on Sherbrook Street, says he had someone try to pass on a counterfeit bill Friday morning.
“The fella wanted to buy a chocolate bar with a $100 bill, and when I said no, he said how about I take three packs of cigarettes, so you won’t have to give me much change,” said Williams. “That was a red flag right there.”
“I looked at it, it didn’t look real, it didn’t feel comfortable.”
Williams says he’s had counterfeit 20 and 50 dollar bills used at his business before.
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