Winnipeg police warn of counterfeit cash marked 'prop money' after $12K seized

CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 3:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Winnipeg constabulary are informing radical astir counterfeit Canadian bills successful the city, aft reports astir fake currency successful the archetypal portion of this twelvemonth much than doubled compared to the aforesaid clip successful 2024.

Const. Keith Ladobruk said fraudulent bills are being recovered crossed Winnipeg, astatine businesses including restaurants and retail stores. 

"At archetypal touch, these consciousness real," said Ladobruk, who works with the fiscal crimes unit, adding the counterfeits are often not identified until a concern deposits them astatine a fiscal institution and idiosyncratic determination notices the fakes.

"You request to instrumentality that 1 oregon 2 seconds to look it implicit to spot that it is simply a imaginable counterfeit."

Ladobruk said successful the archetypal 4th of past year, determination were 30 counterfeit incidents reported to Winnipeg police. In the aforesaid play this year, that fig was 67.

Const. Pat Saydak said constabulary seized astir $12,000 worthy of counterfeit bills during that time. Most progressive the aforesaid benignant of fakes, with the words "prop money" printed successful reverse successful tiny achromatic people connected apical of the holographic portion connected the backmost of the note, and the aforesaid words embedded holographically.

Saydak said the fraudulent slope notes are high-quality and replicate the look and consciousness of morganatic polymer bills, and adjacent person immoderate of the information features recovered successful existent bills.

The counterfeit bills seized by constabulary had serial numbers GJR6710018 done GJR6710022 and were successful denominations of $20, $50 and $100, helium said.

Police said fake wealth is becoming much prevalent crossed Canada, though they judge it apt comes from extracurricular the state — successful portion due to the fact that akin notes person been seized by the Canada Border Services Agency successful bulk quantities, Sgt. Trevor Thompson said.

While Thompson wouldn't accidental wherever constabulary judge the fake bills recovered successful Winnipeg came from, a caller lawsuit successful Nova Scotia saw much than $100,000 of counterfeit Canadian wealth seized aft authorities intercepted packages shipped to Canada from China.

He said due to the fact that of however galore packages travel into Canada done shipping containers and different avenues, constabulary judge the fig of fake bills seized is tiny compared to what gets in.

Thompson said constabulary person besides "frequently" gotten reports from Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries astir counterfeit bills, saying places similar casinos wherever ample amounts of wealth are passed are "going to spot an accrued fig compared to a retail location."

Bills sold connected Instagram, TikTok

Counterfeit wealth is present often advertised for merchantability connected societal media platforms similar Instagram and TikTok "under the guise that it's for movie making and movie production," said Thompson.

Even if that was the case, determination are laws and trademarks preventing producing thing successful the likeness of a Canadian slope note, helium said.

"These are not morganatic notes, careless of what anybody is portraying them to beryllium connected societal media," Thompson said. "If idiosyncratic wanted to marque prop money, it could beryllium made differently."

He said portion radical tin beryllium charged for some producing and knowingly passing connected counterfeit money, the counterfeits constabulary are encountering "are specified precocious quality, there's a bully accidental that radical that are passing them are not alert of [what] they're doing."

Thompson said constabulary haven't seen counterfeiting issues astatine this level "in astir a generation" — and radical whitethorn not announcement the fakes due to the fact that counterfeiting is nary longer apical of caput aft Canada introduced harder-to-duplicate integrative wealth years ago.

Some besides whitethorn not beryllium acquainted with precisely what Canadian wealth should look like, either due to the fact that of the prevalence of cashless transactions oregon due to the fact that they're caller to the country, helium said. 

'Not an casual fix'

He said portion Winnipeg constabulary person made arrests related to idiosyncratic incidents, "we're not astatine that constituent yet wherever we tin say, you know, we've identified … a compartment oregon a radical of individuals oregon enactment that is actively importing them.

"The complexity and the measurement of notes and the determination wherever they're coming from, it's not an casual fix."

Saydak said determination are a fewer things radical tin support successful caput to archer if bills they travel crossed are existent oregon fake, including a flimsy quality successful colour betwixt the two. 

Pictures connected the counterfeit bills whitethorn besides commencement to deterioration off, and the notes tin go creased successful the mediate and look much akin to a insubstantial note. The fake bills' holographic strips tin besides beryllium raised somewhat disconnected the note, alternatively of being flush and integrated with the remainder of the bill, helium said. 

Anyone acrophobic that bills they person whitethorn beryllium counterfeit is encouraged to spell to their fiscal institutions oregon consult the Bank of Canada's website.

But don't expect to get your fake measure swapped for a existent one, Thompson said — "it has zero value."