ANTIGONISH: A fake $20 bill found its way into circulation in Antigonish County.
A social media post on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nova Scotia Facebook page on Oct. 11, indicated Antigonish County District RCMP learned that a fake $20 bill was passed and accepted at a local store.
Antigonish District RCMP Sgt. Warren McBeath advised if you’re accepting cash, please make sure to check the bills to ensure that they are proper legal tender.
“The bill came from MacDonald’s Convenience Store in St. Andrews,” Sgt. McBeath told The Reporter. “It was given to a customer as change from a transaction.”
The bill, which appears to be similar in size and appearance to legal currency, is printed on regular paper, has “this is not legal tender” stamped on it and the word Canada is misspelled on both the front and back of the bill.
“The bill was not technically counterfeit or fraudulent,” Sgt. McBeath said. “It was clearly marked on one side that it was not legal tender and was a replica bill to be used as a movie/film prop.”
According to the RCMP, the security features are also missing from the bill.
One commentor on the post suggested “…when businesses push their employees to work as fast as possible it does not surprise me that a cashier would have accepted this without looking closely,” which had upwards of 30 likes by the time of publication.
Another commentor suggested “…for over 60 years of being a consumer I’ve never seen a cashier check a bill to confirm whether it’s real or counterfeit yet.”
Sgt. McBeath advised if anyone receives or comes into possession of counterfeit or fake money, they should contact their local police service, for an investigation to be initiated.
According to the Criminal Code of Canda, any individual caught making counterfeit money; those who buy, receive or offers to buy or receive counterfeit money; has in their custody or possession counterfeit money; or introduces counterfeit money into Canada is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of no more than 14 years.
“We have had no further complaints of counterfeit or fake bills being passed in the Antigonish area since this one occurred.”