more than $3,000 in bogus notes in recent weeks, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Police spokesman Coleman Easton said approximately $3,700 in Bermudian $100 and $50 bills had been seized so far this month.

Bermuda Monetary Authority general manager Munro Sutherland said the counterfeit notes were "almost certainly'' manufactured by criminals on the Island.

Major companies such as the Bermuda Electric Light Company have instructed staff to check on $100 Bermudian bills to ensure they have the tuna watermark before accepting them.

In the past few weeks, banks on the Island have become aware that phoney Bermudian currency is in circulation and companies have been alerted to be extra vigilant.

Mr. Easton said: "Approximately $3,700 has been discovered this month, mostly $100 Bermudian bills but also some $50 bills.

"They have mainly been received by banks because banks look at this stuff very closely.

"They have been found across the board, across the Island, not one specific outlet at all. The commercial crime officers have been actively advising businesses, letting people know about it.'' Mr. Sutherland said many of the notes would be passed on in areas with poor lighting such as pubs and clubs.

Criminals were using increasingly sophisticated copying and computer scanning equipment to produce counterfeit cash. But he said the phony cash was a "tiny proportion'' of the Bermudian currency in circulation.

Mr. Sutherland said: "Over a fairly lengthy period of time, reproduction techniques and computer scanners are increasing awareness.

"There has always for a number of years been small numbers of counterfeit notes around in every jurisdiction.

"Bermuda has been better protected than others because there has been less incentive for people to try to counterfeit our notes because we are not an international currency.

"I think we are talking about a local problem. But this is not very sophisticated printing. It is simply duplication or scanning from a type of equipment that regrettably is still available.

"The reason we do not have a bigger problem is because we are not an international currency and therefore there is no incentive for foreigners to produce it, so I think it is almost certainly home-grown.

Warning over phoney notes "This particular batch came to light within the past few days when one particular bank had a spate of problem notes -- but we are still talking about single digits -- that triggered a warning to them to increase vigilance.

"It is retailers who are most vulnerable. But it remains a pretty small scale problem and the public should be reassured.

"It is a tiny proportion of notes. But clearly there is a need for vigilance and for people to look for the basic security features like the watermark and the quality of the printing.'' Belco spokeswoman Robin McPhee said the company's bank alerted them recently that a counterfeit $100 had been found in a deposit the utility company had made. The bank then told them fake $100 bills were in circulation.

"Since then, we've got official notification from the bank that there is a Police alert on this,'' she added.