RCMP warns Canadians to watch out for counterfeit cash

Consumers are being told to watchout for Canadian counterfeit money with glued onauthenticholographic security stripes,following incidents in Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

The RCMP Bureau for Counterfeit and Document Examinations (BCDE) issued an alert Tuesday after identifying an increase in fake Canadian bank notes that bear a genuine holographic stripe taken from authentic currency of a lower denomination.

The counterfeit money has actual holographic stripes removed from Canadian Journey series $5, $10 and $20 notes, which areglued ontopoor quality counterfeit $20, $50 and $100 notes.

RCMP spokesperson Nathalie Deschenes told CBCNews.ca that a recent rash of the fake notes is what prompted the BCDE to issue the release. She said 45 of the counterfeit notes had been found in July alone, with a total of 66 notes for 2007, and a total of 450 since 2005.

Most of the incidents happened in Alberta, with some also in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

"Watch for bank notes which bear a genuine holographic stripe but for a lesser denomination than that of the actual bank note.

"For example, the note may have a genuine holographic stripe with the numeral 5 appearing on a counterfeit $50 bill. The same is happening for the numeral 10 appearing on a counterfeit $100 note," said the BCDE in a statement.

"Bank note security features are easy to recognize by touching, tilting and by looking through the note. Both merchants and the public are encouraged to routinely check their bank notes, not only to protect against loss, but also to prevent counterfeits from entering circulation," it added.

The BCDE added thatthe criminals tried to take the genuine notes with the missing security stripes back to the bank for replacement.