A Toronto man is speaking out after he says he received $1,900 in counterfeit money from the sale of his smartphone on Facebook Marketplace. “I didn’t believe counterfeit money was real until I actually faced this,” said Jay, who asked CTV News to conceal his identity for safety reasons, as the scammer who gave him the counterfeit bills knows where he lives. Jay told CTV News that he put his Samsung Z Fold 8 on Facebook Marketplace and received a message from a buyer offering him the asking price of $1,900. ‘He knew what he was doing’: victim After the buyer came to his building and shortly interacted with Jay, the man gave him 19 bills of $100 and left. Jay says when he returned to his apartment upstairs he noticed that the bills felt strange and they all had the same serial number. He said when he compared them to a $100 bill he already had, he could tell they were fakes. Jay said the buyer had already deleted his account when he tried reaching out to him. “But from him deleting the Facebook account, it proves that he knew that these were fake money. Like (he) knew that this was counterfeit money. He knew what he was doing,” he said. CTV News has previously reported on consumers who have faced similar situations. One viewer sold a phone on Facebook Marketplace and was scammed out of $900. A small business owner was also scammed when selling a trailer for $12,000 as half the funds were paid using real money, the other half was counterfeit. Peer-to-peer fraud losses top $175K in 2026: TPS According to Toronto Police Service, there have been 210 reports of fraud with $175,000 in losses so for this year with peer-to-peer sales. “Counterfeit money is definitely up this year. We are at almost twice as much as we saw in 2025,” Det. David Coffey, of the Financial Crimes Unit, said. He told CTV News its usually $50 and $100 bills being passed as fakes. Coffey is advising people to check serial numbers carefully, and to take their time if something seems off and not go through with the sale. “People have to realize when they are dealing with these marketplaces you’re dealing with a strangers. It’s a risk environment,” he said. But it’s not just fake cash, it’s fake goods as well. “People are buying fake iPhones, buying fake laptops, fake products,” said Coffey. The Bank of Canada advises using three simple tricks to spot a counterfeit: feel, look, and flip. You should tilt the note to make sure the metallic portrait and building change colours. For more information on spotting counterfeit notes, check with the Bank of Canada. As for Jay, he says he wanted to share his story to warn others to be cautious accepting cash from people you don’t know. “I guess the whole point is that you always got to be careful when your dealing cash,” he said. Jay told CTV News that he is handing over the counterfeit money to the police as it is illegal to knowingly keep or pass fake notes. If you must accept cash for a large transaction meet at your bank where the bills can be checked by bank staff.
