A restaurant owner has warned Aussies to be on the lookout for counterfeit money that’s circulating around the country after his unsuspecting employees fell for a fake $50 and $100 notes.
Omar El Deek, co-owner of popular Italian restaurant and bar, Cosi, located in Melbourne’s South Yarra, was shocked after his wife discovered fake bank notes in the registers after they were used to pay for meals on two separate occasions in just a fortnight.
“Only one percent of our customers pay in cash now so it’s unexpected and tricky to pick up on, especially during busy times in the restaurant,” Omar tells 7Life.
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However, the restaurateur says he believes the customers were unaware they were carrying the fake notes before using them to fraudulently settle the bill.
He says he’s convinced the counterfeit banknotes were already in circulation throughout the area.
“The fake $50 and $100 notes looked so similar to real cash,” Omar says.
Omar says he doesn’t blame his staff as the restaurant was so busy when the customers settled the bill using notes they he insisted looked “so real”.
He says the notes feel “slightly different” but “you have to be an expert to spot the differences”.
The major difference is that the fake $50 note doesn’t include the Australian Coat of Arms.
Omar decided to take the counterfeit money to the police station to report the incident.
“The police officer said that while there had been some counterfeit notes floating around, these were the realest-looking ones he had seen,” Omar explains.
Since the incident, the owner says they have purchased and installed counterfeit detector machines, costing them $350, in an effort to crackdown on fake notes.
Customers paying in cash have to put their notes through the machines to ensure they are not paying with fake money.
Omar believes it is important to raise awareness in the community — especially with the inflation-driven cost-of-living crisis as small businesses struggle to stay afloat.
“It’s not enough to just serve good food and offer great customer service these days, you have to be doing it all,” he says.
“Everything from the marketing to the sourcing of products.”
Omar and his business partner Giacomo Pietrantuono took over Cosi as co-owners in 2019.
The restaurant has been operating since 1996.
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