By Hilda Austria/PNA
BINALONAN, Pangasinan — The police here has advised the public to be vigilant against counterfeit money and not to circulate it in case they get hold of it.
Chief Insp. Arvin Jacob, Binalonan police chief, in an interview Friday, said fake bills are rampant this Yuletide season as proven by the three arrests done by the police since last month of persons using counterfeit money to buy goods.
Jacob said the latest to be arrested on Wednesday was Jose Corpuz, a resident Mapandan town. He allegedly bought products from a ready-to-wear store in the market here using fake bills.
The store owner said she became suspicious of the bills — a PHP1,000 and PHP500 — paid to her because of their texture, prompting the latter to seek police assistance.
“Although the suspect denied the allegation, there were witnesses and the bills were certified counterfeit by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-Dagupan branch. The suspect was apprehended for swindling case and the fake bills were confiscated,” Jacob said.
He urged those who will be victimized by counterfeit money scams to immediately report to the police and surrender the bills to them.
“They should not use the fake money, because if it is recovered in their possession it will be presumed that it is theirs and that they might be using it as payment,” Jacob said.
