Add this to the list. Quebec has fake driver’s licences sold by SAAQ employees. Cartel drugs moving through CN rail yards.

A bridge that fell on five people because engineers were scheduled for Monday. Nine flood insurance payments processed out of 1,900 claims. And now counterfeit $20 bills circulating in Saguenay with at least 14 confirmed cases reported to police since late January 2026.

The $20 bill. The most common denomination in daily transactions. The bill everyone accepts without thinking.

The one you receive as change at the dépanneur. The one someone hands you on Marketplace when they buy your old iPhone. Now you need to check that too.

What Is Happening

The Saguenay police service confirmed at least 14 cases of counterfeit $20 bills reported since late January 2026. The scheme targets Marketplace transactions specifically. Buyers approach sellers with fake bills for high-value items like iPhones.

The seller hands over a real phone. The buyer hands over paper. The counterfeit operation has also hit commercial establishments directly.

One merchant in the Talbot zone reported being caught four times with fake $100 and $20 bills within two weeks. Merchants who previously refused $100 bills are now also suspicious of $20s. A dépanneur owner in Chicoutimi put it plainly.

He has been in convenience store retail for years and this barely happened before. Now you cannot trust anyone and you have to check everything.

The Method

The counterfeit bills are designed to pass casual inspection. The differences are subtle enough that most people do not catch them in a normal transaction. On a fake bill the adhesive security strip can be peeled off easily.

On a real $20 it cannot. The small raised dots on the surface of a real bill are perceptible when you run your finger across them. On a fake bill they are printed flat and you feel nothing.

The people passing the bills know this. They operate at night. They move quickly.

They make small purchases. Lottery tickets. Gum.

Anything that produces change. Which means they receive real money back for fake money spent. The merchant absorbs the loss and receives nothing.

The police note that possessing counterfeit currency is a criminal offense with a maximum sentence of 14 years. Which has not stopped the operation from expanding.

The Quebec Pattern Continued

This platform has documented the specific Quebec institutional pattern across every sector over recent weeks. The bridge engineers were scheduled for Monday. Five people died.

The government classified it as a car accident. The SAAQ employees sold 2,000 fake licences. The institution responsible for road safety certification was selling the certification fraudulently.

The flood destroyed thousands of Montreal homes. The premier promised help. Nine payments were processed.

The Desjardins breach exposed 9.7 million people’s social insurance numbers and banking data. The affected members received $88 on average. And now counterfeit $20 bills are circulating through Marketplace transactions and corner stores in Saguenay.

The most common denomination. The most trusted transaction. The one nobody checks.

What To Do

The Bank of Canada website has tools to verify genuine bills. The raised dots on the surface. The security strip that cannot be peeled.

The hologram elements. For Marketplace transactions specifically. Meeting in public places.

Checking bills before handing over goods. Not accepting payment that feels wrong. These are the specific practices that protect against a scheme that the police confirm is increasing.

The Saguenay police can be contacted if you receive a counterfeit bill. Do not spend it. Do not throw it away.

Report it. Possessing it is technically an offense but reporting it is the correct response.

The Honest Note

In a province where the SAAQ sold fake licences, the government processed nine flood payments out of 1,900 claims, and the bridge engineers were scheduled for Monday, the counterfeit $20 bill is almost expected. When institutional integrity fails at every level the informal economy adapts accordingly. The bill in your hand might be fake.

The licence on the road might be fake. The insurance coverage you paid for might not cover what happened to you. The promise the premier made might not be honoured.

Quebec has the highest taxes in North America. Check your $20 bills. SIIIOCULI — Intelligence.

Sovereignty. Awareness. siiioculi.lilxbrxaker.com