In 2013, the city of Ottawa saw a 145 percent rise in counterfeit currency offenses. The increase of counterfeit currency arrests was prominent in almost every city ward.
According to Ottawa Police crime data analysis, Gloucester-Southgate ward had the sharpest increase of cases at 600 per cent.
Counterfeit Currency Rates per Ward:
Councilor of Bay ward Mark Taylor said that one of the reasons for the numerous cases could be the prominence of small businesses in the Nepean area. The other factor is that there are several banks within the ward and a large percentage of older adults, said Taylor. These older adults, said Taylor, are more apt to raise concerns of counterfeit with a bank teller. “The changeover in currency to the new modern polymer currency has led some people, particularly older adults to wonder what a $20 bill is supposed to look like,” said Taylor.
The $20 bank note denomination was the most widely circulated counterfeit in 2013.
Counterfeit currency is bank notes or coins that have been forged or imitated by anyone other than the Bank of Canada.
“They key is education. If nobody knows what to look for or aren’t bothering to actually authenticate their note at the point of sale, then they are leaving themselves vulnerable to getting a counterfeit note,” said Nish Vair who works in currency and education at the Bank of Canada.
“It’s a matter of actually using that knowledge to train staff and then they have to protect them,” said Vair who provides training for retailers and banks. “That’s how you deter counterfeiting.”
The statistics presented are from the Ottawa Police; however, due to the fact counterfeiting currency is a offense sited in the Criminal Code of Canada, the RCMP investigates these cases.
The RCMP work closely with the Bank of Canada who have recently introduced polymer bank notes to combat counterfeiting.
“Polymer banknotes are among the most advanced bank notes in the world,” said
Vair. “The main reason we switched over to polymer was because it allows us to have more advanced security features and stay ahead of counterfeiters.”
Historically speaking, said Vair, whenever a new series of bank notes are introduced, it is during that transition time that the older series gets counterfeited more.
The most counterfeited bank notes are from the Canadian Journey series, said Vair. The Journey series is still in circulation – and it will be in circulation for a few years to come.
The RCMP have raised concerns about counterfeiting in Canada. The RMCP could not be reached for comment on the topic of counterfeit investigations.
The RCMP state that even with advances in technology, no counterfeiter has the ability to produce an exact copy of a bank note.
The Counterfeit Analysis Program (CAP) is a support service that operates under the RCMP Commercial Crime Branch guidance. According to the RCMP website, the program provides counterfeit currency intelligence and analytical support to Canadian law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of counterfeit currency offenses.
Possession, use, or creation of counterfeit currency is an indictable offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Cash is the preferred method of payment for transactions under $25 and the second-most commonly used method of payment for transactions of $26-$100.
In Ontario, according to counterfeit currency statistics from the RCMP, 6,472 bank notes were seized and 16,476 were passed.
The Ottawa Police were unavailable to comment on investigation of counterfeit cases. However, according to the RCMP, large scale counterfeit currency activity in the nation is most often facilitated by organized crime groups who are also involved in other criminal activities such as weapons, offense, drugs and identity left.