RCMP is warning people that counterfeit US$50 bills have been surfacing in the past few days at downtown businesses.

A number of suspects have been viewed on video surveillance and charges are being pursued.

According to Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth, one female suspect actually called police to let them know she was in Alberta and that she wasn’t passing counterfeit bills.

The woman is actually one of the people caught on surveillance, so her call to police was a poor effort to avoid detection, he said.

Picture from Penticton RCMP with files from Castanet