Mounties say crooks passing fake polymer bank notes in British Columbia

May 16, 2013 – 4:14 PM
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. – It was only two years ago that the head of the RCMP said the country's new polymer bank notes would go a long way to deterring the threat of counterfeiting.

Today, police in British Columbia are warning that several of the fake $100 bills have been detected floating around Metro Vancouver.

Mounties are now asking consumers to check the security features on the notes and compare them with a genuine bill if they are suspicious.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Duncan Pound says the note are so secure that retailers are almost overconfident in the bills, so they aren't checking the money.

The $100 bills were issued in 2011, and were followed by $50 notes in March 2012, $20 notes in November 2012, and the unveiling of the $5 and $10 notes this past April.

The RCMP says almost 50,000 counterfeit Canadian bank notes were passed in the country last year.