Eric Beauchesne
Sun
OTTAWA — Most Canadians feel counterfeiting is a problem but most also rarely, if ever, check the bank notes they are passed, according to the results of a survey conducted for the Bank of Canada.
Seven in 10 Canadians surveyed in March this year said counterfeiting is a problem, including one-quarter who felt it’s a “big problem,” about the same proportions as a year ago, the bank said in a report obtained by CanWest News Service through the Access to Information Act.
The continuing high level of concern is despite the introduction of bank notes of various denominations that have added security features to make it both more difficult for counterfeiters to produce good counterfeits and easier for Canadians to identify phony bills.
Despite that continuing concern, four in 10 said they “never” check their bank notes, and another three in 10 said they “almost never” do, which in total is 70 per cent, or the same percentage as said counterfeiting is a problem.
Further, those who were the most likely to believe counterfeiting is a problem, were also the most likely to never check their bank notes, the report noted.
However, the identity of that group was blanked out by the bank on the grounds that revealing who they were could “facilitate” the crime of counterfeiting.
“A counterfeiter’s chance of success depends on how closely Canadians look at their notes,” said Ginette Crew, a senior analyst at the Bank of Canada, adding that the central bank has made it “very easy” for them to check their notes with the introduction of notes with enhanced security features.
The survey, meanwhile, also found that Quebecers were the most likely to consider counterfeiting a big problem, with more than four in 10 feeling that way.
Concern about counterfeiting extends to the smallest denomination, the $5 bill, with 41 per cent of Canadians saying it’s a problem.
Again, Quebecers, at 33 per cent, were twice as likely as the rest of Canada to feel that the counterfeiting of the $5 note is a “big problem.”
The latest Bank of Canada figures show that last year 13,916 phony $5 notes were detected in circulation, down from more than 18,000 in 2003, but still the third highest number in any year on record.
The survey, however, found that only 18 per cent of Canadians have ever been offered or received a counterfeit note of any denomination, prompting the analysis of the results to suggest that there’s a “disconnect between perception and reality of [the] problem.”
The survey of 2,000 adult Canadians, conducted by SES Canada Research Inc., from March 17 to 22, is considered an accurate reflection of the views of all Canadians within 2.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
