Significant increase in the circulation of counterfeit bills in retail stores

MONTREAL — The Retail Council of Canada is sounding the alarm about a significant increase in fake $20, $50 and $100 bills being circulated since November.

The association reports it has detected more counterfeit bills in one month than in the entire previous year.

Counterfeiters have refined their techniques to such an extent that it has become nearly impossible to detect these counterfeit bills, even for a trained eye, says Michel Rochette, president of the RCC’s Quebec division.

“They are extremely credible; you can’t tell them apart from the real thing. The hologram is really well done. This means that, as we have been saying for a long time, we are facing increasingly structured and organized criminals,“ he says.

It is no coincidence the increase is occurring in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

“Stores are very busy; it’s the most important time of the year. With so many people shopping at the same time, it’s more difficult to tell the difference and notice if something is wrong,” Rochette says.

He does not know the extent of the phenomenon.

“Obviously, it’s not easy to quantify. But there really is an explosion of counterfeit bills, to the point where even the Quebec provincial police has put up posters in certain places warning people to be careful,” he says.

Rochette urges both consumers and merchants to be vigilant.

He also urges politicians to give police forces more resources to tackle this scourge.

“We are asking the federal and provincial governments to show some teeth,” Rochette said. “There is a real obligation to take this issue extremely seriously because anything that is left unaddressed will only get worse.”

However, Rochette welcomes the Carney government’s decision to grant new powers to the RCMP to fight organized crime in the retail industry.

“This will give us a helping hand. Now, at the provincial level and in Quebec, it is absolutely essential that the government give police forces more resources to investigate and be on the ground.”

According to the latest national data, theft and fraud-related losses in businesses amount to $9 billion annually.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2025.