The number of counterfeit bills within the country has decreased over the past decade.
The Bank of Canada saw approximately $2.5-million dollars of passed counterfeit bills last year which has reduced largely due to education and the introduction of polymer bills in 2011.
Senior Analyst Vanessa Collins says victims have lost that money throughout Canada. She recommends for people look for identifiers at the time of sale.
"With polymer notes there's lots of enhanced features that they can use. We have holography in our large see-through window. We also have raised ink, so there is lots of tactility to the bills as well," says Collins who presented at a Rotary Club of Sarnia meeting Monday.
If residents come across a suspicious transaction, they have the right to refuse to accept it and ask for another bill or method of payment.
The Bank of Canada and RCMP are working closely to prevent counterfeit money from being passed at the upcoming Pan Am games in Toronto. In 2010, British Columbia had a spike in counterfeit money during the Olympic games and will likely happen again in Ontario.
"We are doing a lot of proactive initiatives to ensure that the message is getting across to not only police officers, but also to employees who will be working the games as well as visitors coming to and from," says Collins.
Ontario accounted for 50 per cent of counterfeits passed last year. Although Collins says Sarnia is not a highly targeted area, they should always check for and report any counterfeit bills to local police and banks.