Police warn of phony bills

Forget wooden nickels, Toronto Police are dealing with a rash of counterfeit $100 bills.

Police and the Bank of Canada are reminding people to check bills after phonies have appeared in the Toronto area.

 "They have been appearing all over the GTA in recent weeks.  A number of them showed up in the entertainment district over the weekend," says Detective Sergeant Jim Farrell, who adds the fakes appear to be good copies.

However, Sergeant Moshe Gordon from the RCMP says it really shouldn't be possible to be fooled by a fake.

"There is no good counterfeit note.  If you know what to look for in a genuine note, as far as the security features, you'd be able to pick up a counterfeit relatively easily."

Those security features include the holographic strip on the corner of a bill, the fibre of the bill, the watermark and the raised lettering.

More information on counterfeit security features is available on the Bank of Canada website.