(THAMES CENTRE, ON) – Middlesex County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is currently investigating numerous occurrences involving the purchase of gift cards and other items with counterfeit money.
Police have learned that a group of males travelling in a beige car have targeted a number of businesses throughout the past couple of days. When they enter the store, they purchase gift cards and small dollar-valued items with money and leave, only to target the next place of business. It has been discovered that the gift cards and other small items have been purchased with counterfeit US $20 and counterfeit US $50 bills.
For information on how to identify counterfeit money you can visit:
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/counterfeit-prevention/
Storefront personnel are reminded to examine cash used for gift card purchases carefully and larger denomination cash used to purchase small dollar items. Suspects do this to convert the counterfeit money into valid gift cards and valid Canadian currency to use to their benefit.
Should you come across someone trying to pass off a counterfeit bill, ask for another method of payment and explain that you think the bill might be counterfeit. Look for and make note of unique identifiers for the person trying to pass the counterfeit bill. If they leave, and it is safe to do so, make note of their direction and method of travel and contact police.
Anyone with information in relation to this investigation is encouraged to contact the Ontario Provincial Police or your local police service. The OPP can be reached anytime, anywhere in the Province of Ontario at 1-888-310-1122. If you wish to remain anonymous you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) where you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2000.