With the Crop Over festival shifting into high gear, the Central Bank of Barbados is advising both retailers and the public to be on the lookout for people who are trying to pass off fake banknotes as real money.

Deputy Director of Currency at the Central Bank, Octavia Gibson, said the bank tends to see an increase in counterfeiting at times of the year when spending rises and there is a lot of money in circulation. She added that during Crop Over in particular, when a lot of activities take place at night and when people collecting money at parties and working in stalls are not used to handling large amounts of cash, counterfeiters take advantage of the situation.

She explained that people can protect themselves from counterfeiters by becoming familiar with and using, the security features on Barbadian banknotes.