Geelong
Friday, 8 August, 2014
Connecting people and communities
Phone: 5249 6700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808
Fake $50s flooding Geelong’s retailers By NOEL MURPHY
LOST HEART IN RETURN TO CITY P3
CROOKS are passing counterfeit $50 notes in shops across central Geelong and as far as Waurn Ponds. Police have warned traders to be wary of the bogus notes, which they described as “reasonable quality”. “There’s been a steady increase in passing fake notes over the last month,” Geelong Police Senior Constable Adam Niksic told the Independent. “They’re hitting the shopping centres in Geelong and smaller shops too, basically everywhere in the CBD. “We’re warning traders to just be wary of them. “If notes don’t feel right or look right, don’t accept them and call us.” Police said some of the notes had been in circulation for a long time and could be difficult to identify until they began to deteriorate through wear and tear. Other fake notes were introduced more recently, leading to the current spate. Sen Const Niksic said offenders commonly targetted young sales assistants at busy times when their attention might be distracted. A shopping centre assistant told the Independent she rejected a $50 bill recently after thinking it resembled a photocopied note. “They tried to give me a $50 note, which was a funny pale yellow,” the teenage girl said. “I just said, ‘Sorry’, and gave it back to them. Then they gave me a $20 note.” The girl notified her employer, who contacted authorities. Police wanted CBD traders to be wary, to know officers were investigating complaints and to “bring them in” if they received any counterfeit notes. Geelong Retail Network chairman Mark Edmonds said the fake $50 notes had been passed in stores at Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre, including at his wife’s business. Continued page 5
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