Edmonton police are investigating a scam involving two men who allegedly convince store owners that pieces of paper will turn into legitimate cash after they are washed with a chemical.
Police say the suspects approach a sales person and express an interest in using cash to buy an item, usually worth tens of thousands of dollars. The suspects, posing as refugees from an African country, typically return to the store several times to gain the trust of staff.
Staff are shown a $50 Canadian bill placed between two pieces of plain, white paper. The paper is the same size as the bill.
The white pieces of paper are covered in a special coating. In front of store staff, the suspects then wash the paper in a chemical, police say.
The white pieces of paper then turn into two additional $50 bills, to lead the store owners to believe they are receiving genuine cash covered in a coating.
The suspects then tell the store staff they can only pay for the goods using the white pieces of paper. They claim they need to use the paper to export the currency from their country of origin, police say.
The suspects also ask the store staff for cash to buy the chemicals to wash the bills, with promise of repayment.
When the transaction is completed, the business is left with white photocopy or black construction paper with no monetary value.
“This is a well documented scam known as the “˜black money scam’ with different variations out there,” says Det. Dennis Tetreault of the EPS Coordinated Counterfeit Squad in a release. “We ask that if anyone is approached with this scam to just walk away and report it to police.”
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