Officers at the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment are asking business owners to be vigilant when accepting cash after receiving several reports of counterfeit currency in the Cowichan Valley over the last few weeks.
Several local banks and businesses have turned over suspected counterfeit currency to the RCMP.
The counterfeit currency circulating has recently been in denominations of $5, $20, and $100.
However, that does not preclude other fraudulent denominations or fraudulent U.S. currency from being passed.
The suspected counterfeit bills are reported to have security features that even include holographs.
“We are encouraging vendors in the community to be suspicious of any currency that doesn’t look or feel real,” said Sgt. Trevor Busch.
If you suspect a counterfeit bill or have information about counterfeiting activity in the Cowichan Valley, please contact the RCMP at 250-748-5522.
People can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at cowichancrimestoppers.com to leave a secure tip online, or call 1-800-222-8477.
For more information about how to recognize counterfeit currency, please visit the Bank of Canada Counterfeit Prevention Website.
