Three more incidents were reported in Bunbury.

Senior Constable Becky Breedveld said that on Saturday, January 9, a Caucasian male in his early 20s paid for a chocolate bar at Donnybrook IGA with one of the $50 notes and received change.

“The operator realised it was fake and went straight to her supervisor,” Senior Constable Breedveld said.

Although the man had left the shop, the operator pointed him out to her supervisor — he had just come out of the BP service station across the road.

The supervisor confronted the man, who took the note from her and gave her back the amount in smaller notes, before taking off in a blue Hyundai hatchback. Senior Constable Breedveld said the supervisor then went to the BP and told them what had happened. Another fake note was then found in the BP till.

The person passing out the counterfeit notes was described as a Caucasian male in his 20s, with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, a patchy beard and about 173cm (5 feet 8 inches) tall. He was wearing a green T-shirt and white shorts and carrying a dark brown shoulder bag.

The notes passed out have a more papery feel than a genuine note. The clear plastic part was made with sticky tape and the Southern Cross was drawn in with liquid paper.

Anyone who receives a fake note should call the Donnybrook Police with a description of the man and if possible a car registration number.

Money changing scam

DONNYBROOK’S Chamber of Commerce is warning business owners to be wary after a local business was defrauded of $60.

The scammer worked on a young shop assistant during a busy time, causing confusion by wanting to exchange various amounts of money.

The business will be installing security cameras soon and will no longer be exchanging large notes — apart from giving change for purchases.

Businesses should have rigid policies in place with regards to exchanging money, the chamber said.

A Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DOCEP) spokeswoman said the incident was a police matter because the person was effectively committing fraud. The incident has been reported to police.

A similar incident was reported to DOCEP from Dunsborough, the spokeswoman said.