Buses tricked by cash from 'Children's Bank of China'  

多地出现用“中国儿童银行”玩具仿真币坐公交

The toy cashes, looking quite same with real bank notes, are found in the fare box of buses. (Photo source: Chongqing Morning News)

(ECNS) – An increasing amount of toy money printed with "Children's Bank of China" is being used by people to take public buses, the Chongqing Morning News reports.

A bus driver surnamed He in Kaixian county of Chongqing said he had recently found toy money in his fare box, most of which were 1-yuan notes. "It's hard to identify the counterfeit money when passengers drop them in."

Chongqing's Qiyi Bus Company, which has over 1,000 buses running in the city, said they had received counterfeit money worth 140 yuan per day. The toy money and other fake notes accounted for 15 percent of that, while others were coins for game machines.

"Some people purposely take advantage of bus drivers' trust and use fake notes," said a woman who works at the bus company.

Chongqing is not the only city with the problem. According to earlier reports, toy money "issued by the Children's Bank of China" also frequently appeared in bus-fare boxes in the northeastern city Changchun.

Originally created to help children identify bank notes, the toy money is worth much less than its so-called face value.

Dong Hao, a lawyer at Haworth & Lexon Law Firm, said using fake notes or game coins to take buses is a fraudulent practice.