Bermuda Police are warning businesses on the island to be on the lookout for counterfeit money.

The Bermuda Police Service has noticed in the past few days there have been more reports of people spotting counterfeit Bermuda bills.

They ask businesses to remind their staff to be especially vigilant when accepting larger denominations, in particular, the old style Bermuda $50 and $100 notes. They said often the $100 notes are being used to pay for low price items and/or services.

The criminals seem to be targeting vendors who are busy and may be under pressure to serve quickly, reducing the chances the fake bill will be detected.

If a staff member thinks they’ve received a counterfeit note, they should hold on to it, take note of the person who gave it to them, and report it right away.

Acting Superintendent Sean Field-Lament reinforced that message, saying, “When in doubt, take your time and examine the currency further. Members of the public are urged to contact police immediately when presented with any counterfeit bills.”

The general public should also be on alert. To distinguish a genuine Bermuda note from a fake one, look for the tuna fish watermark (on the left side of the note), the metallic security thread (just right of the tuna fish watermark) and the silver ship (on the right side of the note).

Also check the paper quality and see if the serial numbers on two notes are the same. All genuine currency has individual serial numbers.

Any suspicion of counterfeit currency should be reported to the main police number, 295-0011 or to the confidential Crime Stoppers hotline 800-8477.