We have talked in previous posts about international financial fraud as it relates to employment verification – how many businesses perform only perfunctory checks on employee documentation to verify the legal right to work in the U.S. We also touched on counterfeiting efforts abroad, such as North Korea's efforts in copying American hundred dollar bills and the Eurozone's continual fight against counterfeit Euros, a battle in which only now the authorities are turning the corner, despite the bills' security features being considerably more advanced than the dollar.
In short, the problem of counterfeiting is worldwide, and continually expanding. It is particularly acute between countries with strong economic ties, since the paper currency and plastic cards circulate on both sides of the border. Retailers in these regions are forced to ensure the authenticity of not only their own national currency, but also their neighboring state's, and the fraud rate increases commensurately. So it comes as no surprise that America's neighbor to the north and largest trading partner, Canada, has lately seen a rash of counterfeit credit cards and American dollars.
Police in Victoria, British Columbia, are on the lookout for a pair of fraudsters who sweet-talked store clerks into accepting what turned out to be a fake credit card. They said the magnetic strip on the back of the card was damaged in the washing machine, and for the cashier to run the purchase by entering credit card numbers. The duo repeated this scam in a number of stores around the region until, as the Victoria Times Columnist reports, "The grapevine got ahead of them." A store they went into was already aware of the scam and refused the purchase. The fraudsters have not been seen since.
At the same time, counterfeit American $50s and $20s were passed around in other parts of Victoria. Several of them had identical serial numbers, a sure sign of nearby organized counterfeiting ring. The city's proximity to the U.S. - it is separated by less than 100 miles from Washington state – makes it a ripe target for unscrupulous fraudsters on both sides of the border.
Canadian retailers, particularly those close to the border, should be constantly vigilant against counterfeits from both Canada and U.S. Whether a small business or a multinational chain, you cannot afford to remain uninformed and unconcerned.
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