Police detect spike in counterfeit notes in Melbourne’s inner north
Thousands of dollars of “high-quality” counterfeit notes could be circulating in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs, with police charging one woman and investigating four incidents of forged currency. These are the areas the dodgy dough has been found in.
North West
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Thousands of dollars of “high-quality” counterfeit notes could already be circulating in Melbourne’s inner north after police detected a spike in forged currency.
Since March 31, police have identified four incidents where counterfeit $50 and $100 notes were used to buy goods such as petrol, food and household items at stores in Coburg, Fawkner and Pascoe Vale.
A woman has been arrested and police are investigating the remaining three incidents that occurred at service stations, a fast-food restaurant and a hardware store.
One incident saw a customer use five forged $100 notes to buy goods, while the two other incidents saw a single $50 counterfeit note used.
Fawkner Sergeant Bryan Strangman said the notes he had seen were of high quality and not easily identifiable as counterfeit currency.
“The notes had the same serial number helping us to identify that they were counterfeit,” he said.
“I would encourage members of the public to inspect the serial numbers of the notes if they are receiving multiple notes.
“Businesses that have been affected have been identifying the counterfeit notes when they have been banking the notes or storing them.”
Sgt Strangman said police were investigating the incidents at Coburg on March 31, Fawkner on April 4, Pascoe Vale on April 11 and Coburg North on April 21 by reviewing CCTV footage and forensically examining the notes.
A Meadow Heights woman, 31, was charged on April 21 with attempting to obtain property by deception and possessing counterfeit currency.
Sgt Strangman said he believed the forged notes had been distributed to multiple people to use and that these people were not the counterfeiters.
He urged business owners to pass any information regarding counterfeit notes to police.
In 2019, police detected 3483 forgery and counterfeiting offences across Victoria, up from 3107 in 2018, according to data from the Crime Statistics Agency.
Australian banknotes are widely regarded as some of the safest in the world with one of the lowest rates of counterfeiting – most people will never see a counterfeit note, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In the 2018-19 financial year 17,560 fake notes were detected across the country with a nominal value of $1.19 million, down from 31,845 notes in the previous year.
The most popular for counterfeiters were $50 and $100 notes with 10,402 and 6552 detected.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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