When the organizers of southern Vancouver Island’s largest Ribfest realized they had been the victim of a 3D printer beer token scam last year, they were shocked and disappointed, but this year the BBQ sauce-soaked event came prepared. After months of work, sharing tech from major international music and food festivals and a local approach, organizers hope a new beer token will thwart any tech-savvy criminals. “We found the security flaws from last year were simply that the old coin was extremely duplicatable,” Esquimalt Ribfest’s coin developer, Jeremy Notheisz, told CTV News. The major BBQ event and local fundraiser tasked Notheisz and his team with creating a new token or coin that would stump another attempt to replicate it with a 3D printer. The result, after months of work, is a token that not only spins but is also outfitted with a digital signature that constantly communicates with a central radio hub. The spinning function, similar to a child’s fidget spinner, is designed to make it very difficult to replicate in a commercially available 3D printer. The digital signature, according to Notheisz, aims to ensure every dollar and transaction is logged and accounted for. “The vendor taps it. The vendor then sees it’s accepted, it goes in the bucket, and then they go back in for recollections,” Notheisz said while spinning the new token in his fingers. “The actual scanners are working off of a long-range antenna system. So they can basically be anywhere here in this whole entire place.” Victoria police launched an investigation in 2025 after Esquimalt Ribfest organizers realized, after the event had concluded, they were short about $2,000 dollars all while having some extra odd-looking beer tokens. “This is a disappointing incident, particularly given the important role Ribfest plays in our community,” said spokesperson Insp. Conor King on Sept. 15, 2025. “The use of 3D printing to create counterfeit currency, even in a localized event like this, is concerning.” After going public, Ribfest recouped more than double the lost revenue from donations from locals who saw numerous media reports about the scam. This year’s Ribfest is up and running, large doses of BBQ sauce-slathered pork are being consumed, and the coins are already in high rotation throughout the event. Donations are also rolling in for the event’s key fundraising initiative to install a new all-season turf field at Esquimalt Secondary School. Esquimalt Ribfest runs from Sept. 11 to 13, and admission is free. So far, Jeremy Notheisz says the new coins and their tracking system are working perfectly and hopes they can benefit the community for years to come. “Every dollar counts when you’re trying to raise money ... this is something they’re going to be able to use for the next decade without any security issues.”
