Southport service station staff warn of counterfeit cash on Gold Coast

A Gold Coast service station owner is warning other business owners to keep their eyes peeled for fake banknotes after his store received a number of the counterfeit notes in less than a week.

A GOLD Coast service station owner is warning other business owners across the region after taking multiple counterfeit notes in the past week.

Brett Lambert from Freedom Fuel St Clair’s at Southport discovered a fake $50 note on Monday and a fake $100 note last Friday, but did not detect the fraud until long after the customers who passed the notes had left.

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The two fake, but realistic notes taken by the business. Pic Mike Batterham

He is now urging other businesses to “be on the lookout” to protect themselves.

“What they do is pre-empt their moment. They get you when you’re busy so when you’re attending to them they try to catch you off guard,” he said.

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“It’s hard to identify the notes and the print is good quality. What we do recommend is that all retail shops have the UV light to make the numbers glow.

“People who use them are opportunists and they’re career criminals. We’ve gone through the camera footage and the lady we think handed (the $50) over looked nervous.

“The body language told us but not until after it happened. It’s one of those things, they’re circulating, so be aware and be careful you don’t accept them or receive them.

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“If we weren’t good about them they’d go straight back into the system and be given to someone else, but we don’t want them to do that.”

It is not the first time business owners have complained of counterfeit cash around the Gold Coast, with previous reports made by multiple nightclubs including The Bedroom and Sin City.

In previous Bulletin stories, businesses complaining about counterfeiting said it tended to be $50 notes as they created less suspicion, whereas $100 notes were checked as a matter of course.

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Queensland police declined to comment and directed Bulletin reporters to the Australian Federal Police. AFP staff similarly declined to comment, and a media representative said counterfeit notes were the responsibility of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

RBA said in a statement to the Bulletin it could not comment on specific incidents or provide location-specific statistics.

“Australia has a relatively low rate of counterfeiting, with around 15 counterfeits per million genuine banknotes in circulation,” it said.

“The majority of counterfeits are $50 bank notes, while the share of counterfeits that are of high quality or made of polymer has increased over time.”