Yellowknife (Dec 10/03) - Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce officials are warning businesses to be on the lookout for counterfeit money, after police seized nearly $1,000 in fake cash last month.

"Some of the stuff might still be circulating so we just want to give (business owners) a heads up," said the chamber's executive director Dale Thompson.

Thompson said some counterfeit money turned up at the TD Bank but the problem doesn't appear to be widespread. "I think it was caught in time, but it's hard to be sure."

On Nov. 13, police arrested a 17-year-old youth at a downtown convenience store whom employees suspected was passing counterfeit money.

They searched the youth's car and found nine $100 bills along with several bills in smaller denominations.

The youth was later charged with possession of counterfeit money and uttering counterfeit money. He's expected to appear in youth court on Jan. 12.

RCMP Const. Kerri Riehl said the money was produced on an inkjet printer and looked quite a bit like the real thing. "Some people might be able to tell it's fake," she said.

Police say the face on the fake $100 bill is noticeably darker and the back of the bill is a lighter brown. The serial numbers don't appear to be stamped on the bill and the optical security device does not reflect. Riehl also said if the bill were to get wet, the ink would run.

The RCMP investigation into the counterfeiting scheme is still active and more charges could be laid in the future.