The discovery of a counterfeit $100 bill at a retailer in Sudbury has prompted a warning from police to be diligent in inspecting money.

With the assistance of the RCMP, it was determined that the bill is a duplication of a 2004 series which was also used in southern Ontario in early January.

The security foil strip on the left-hand side of the front — where the face is showing — shows a good degree of sophistication and accuracy, thus diverting from the fact that the rest of the bill lacks fine clarity and detail.

It is possible that other counterfeit bills of this nature have other serial numbers.

Those working in retail cash transactions should be aware that, as newer bills are replacing the older ones, counterfeiters are trying to get mileage out of the older series before they are obsolete.

Be wary of small purchases made with a $100 bill.

Even with new technology, no counterfeiter is able to produce an exact duplicate of a genuine bank note — a counterfeit is always an inferior copy of the original.

At first glance, a good counterfeit looks like the real deal, but if you know what to look for — and feel for — it only takes a few seconds to detect a fake.

The following links will show you what to look for:

www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes
 
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/count-contre/count-cont-eng.htm#recognize