http://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/72159849/christchurch-counterfeit-notes-fool-seller

Jess Coughlan wants to warn people about counterfeit money being used in Christchurch.Supplied

A single mum selling a cellphone to raise money for her son's swimming lessons has been duped by buyers bearing counterfeit notes.

Jess Coughlan, of Russley, Christchurch, advertised the Samsung Galaxy telephone on Facebook this week and the buyers arrived with cash on Tuesday night.

A man in his mid 20s, with an olive complexion, took out a fat wallet containing a wad of notes and handed over the cash.

Two men in a silver, four door car had waited for the man on the street and after the deal drove off with him straight away.

Coughlan said the notes, a mixture of $100 and $50 notes, were "pretty good" copies and she urged private sellers to be careful.

A giveaway was the blank windows on the notes but she had not checked them.

She had since been contacted by the seller of a Playstation 3 who had fallen for the same trick this week, she said.

Police are investigating and have taken the notes for forensic examination.