Counterfeit Imperial Bank of Canada $100 1917 notes

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There seem to be a very large number of these contemporary counterfeits available on the market.  Does anyone know any background or history to these notes?  Who produced them and when?  Why are they so available?  Was there a connection to the First World War, such as enemy wartime counterfeiting as was done in the Second World War?

When I bought mine 5 years ago I was told they were made by the Germans to try to collapse Canada's financial system.  It was also not just limited to money from Canada.

There's an article here about it: http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/chatter/2011/Apr/

Thanks guys, that has helped greatly.