A Toronto woman tried depositing the cash she earned after selling her smartphone, and learned the bills she received for the sale were counterfeit.
Leza Polyakova said she listed her phone on Facebook Marketplace and had an interested buyer reach out.
“He said he would come by on April 5th to pick up the phone, and he will bring $900 in cash, as the ad showed,” Polyakova, of North York, said in an interview.
After Polyakova met with the buyer in the lobby of her condo building, she said the buyer examined the phone before agreeing to purchase it from her. She said he handed her eight $100 bills and two $50 bills.
But when she tried to deposit the cash at a bank machine, the bills were rejected.
“The ATM took in the money and was counting it, and on the screen, it confirmed it was unrecognized items and it returned it back,” said Polyakova.
Polyakova then went to a bank teller, who confirmed the bills were counterfeit.
“He showed me the signs that it’s fake: ‘Look at the colour of the bills, the magnetic strip is coming off, and the serial numbers are repeated on the hundreds,’” Polyakova said. “They are all the same.”
Earlier this year, CTV News reported on a Mississauga-based trailer company that was scammed out of $6,200 when someone purchased a trailer with counterfeit cash.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) said there’s been an increase in counterfeit money circulating in the Greater Toronto Area, particularly with $100 and $50 bills.
In 2025, TPS said they collected $94,000 in counterfeit bills. So far this year, police said they’ve far surpassed that mark, collecting $133,000 in fake currency.
In most cases, police say the scammer wants to make the transaction fast, grab the item that was for sale, and leave quickly.
“The person is going to rush you and they are going to try and say they are in a hurry. They want to grab the product and get out of the door. Those are things to be aware of and just take your time,” Det. David Coffey said in an interview with CTV News.
The Bank of Canada has shared tips online to help Canadians spot the difference between fake bills and real ones.
Polyakova said she has to hand over her fake bills to the police sometime this week, as it is illegal to possess counterfeit currency. She said she will no longer accept cash when she sells goods through social media.
