Chatham-Kent police are warning the public about counterfeit American $20 bills making the rounds.
Investigators say they have investigated 11 incidents of counterfeit American $20 bills being used to buy items across Chatham-Kent over the past two months.
Two Chatham men have been arrested and charged with using counterfeit money and a young person from Chatham was also found to be in possession of counterfeit money.
Police say that all the counterfeit bills have the same serial number of JB44CYBEHNP with the backwards ‘N’, which is derived from the Russian Cyrillic Alphabet. Authorities say these bills are being circulated all over North America.
Business owners are also reminded that they do not have to accept a bill if they believe it’s counterfeit.
Police say both U.S. and Canadian money have security features. The U.S. $20 bill has security features that include a colour-shifting numeral, a watermark and a security thread.
The Bank of Canada provides information on how to tell whether Canadian or American bills are counterfeit at www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/counterfeit-prevention/.
The U.S. Currency Education Program also provides information regarding their seven denominations and security features at www.uscurrency.gov/denominations.
If you suspect someone is trying to use a counterfeit bill or if you’ve received counterfeit money, please call police at 519-352-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).