MONTREAL – Watch out for counterfeit cash. The warning comes from the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), which is raising the alarm over a sharp increase in the circulation of fake $20, $50 and $100 bills, a trend that began last November and has intensified in the pre-Christmas period as holiday shopping reaches a peak.
The association says it has detected more counterfeit banknotes in a single month than in the entire previous year. Counterfeiters have refined their techniques to such an extent that the fake bills have become nearly impossible to identify, even for trained eyes, Michel Rochette, president of the RCC’s Quebec division, told The Canadian Press. “We have seen a recent resurgence of very high-quality bills. 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” Rochette said. The timing of the surge is no coincidence, occurring in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
“Unfortunately, it’s a great time to issue counterfeit bills because 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 added.
The full extent of the phenomenon remains unknown. “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” Rochette said. He is calling on both consumers and retailers to remain alert. “It reminds us how important it is to inform and educate as many merchants as possible. The more people who are aware, the more we can try to limit the spread of these counterfeit bills” he affirmed.
Of course, the problem is not limited to Quebec, but concerns all of Canada. And Rochette himself is also urging politicians to provide additional resources to law enforcement agencies to combat what he describes as a growing scourge. “We are asking the federal and provincial governments to show some teeth. Since we’re talking about organized and structured groups, this often involves violence. There is a real obligation to take this issue extremely seriously because anything that is left unaddressed will only get worse” he said. In this context, Rochette welcomed the Carney government’s decision to grant new powers to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to fight organized crime in the retail sector. “This will give us a helping hand. Now, also at the provincial level it is absolutely essential that the government give police forces more resources to investigate and be on the ground” he concluded.
