False ₡10,000 bills are being used so we should all be careful when accepting payments or change. In this week alone, two people paid with these false bills at two different places in San Jose, an agricultural fair and a commercial establishment.
The police were alerted in both cases but both subjects fled and got away. Police have also been alerted to a scam involving people charging up to ₡20,000 for ₡500 coins that are not actually colectionable.
One way to tell if a bill is fake is if it is smaller in size than the real ones. It’s also a good idea to investigate the features of the new bills which are made of a recyclable plastic-like material that lasts longer than the old ones.
If you still have cotton bills, they will not be accepted in stores but can be exchanged in banks, indefinitely. You should go to your bank to change any cotton bills you have in the following denominations: ₡1,000, ₡2,000, ₡5,000, ₡10,000, and ₡20,000.
