Filmmakers are always trying to fool us into believing Toronto is Anycity, USA. But it’s pretty easy to catch them in the act. Here are seven easy ways to spot a movie shot in Toronto, pretending to be New York City/Detroit/Chicago/Cleveland/any populous, northern U.S. city:

1. Supporting actors strain not to pronounce “out” like “oot.”

2. It’s too clean.

3. USA Today vending boxes are conspicuously placed in the middle of every frame, but you rarely see boxes for the actual newspapers of New York City/Detroit/Chicago/ Cleveland/any populous, northern U.S. city.

4. The signs on buildings look too new and too prominent, so you can’t possibly miss them (unlike real signs, which you usually can miss).

5. Canadian actors whom you rarely see in American-made films — Sheila McCarthy (“The Day After Tomorrow”), Maury Chaykin (“Mystery, Alaska”) and Colm Feore (“Paycheck”) — are featured in semi-prominent roles. (Many Canadian actors owe their careers to American-financed films that shoot in Canada and are, thus, required to hire a percentage of Canadian actors.)

6. The only time recognizable buildings, such as the Sears Tower or the Chrysler Building, are seen is in the helicopter shot of the skyline that opens the film.

7. Even if you don’t feel like paying attention to the entire closing credits, you can keep your eyes peeled for the attention-getting DGC (Director’s Guild of Canada) logo, a dead give-away for movies shot there.