Crimestoppers
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Counterfeit cash in County Durham
Watch out for fake notes!
Fake Scottish £10, £20 and some £50 notes are circulating in County Durham.
We would like to raise awareness of this issue and gather intelligence information on where they are coming from.Never rely on looking for only one feature – the feature you choose may be one the counterfeiters have attempted to replicate. Instead check for as many as possible of the following:
Serial Numbers
Genuine notes have unique serial numbers therefore if you have two notes displaying the same serial number at least one of them is a counterfeit
Paper
Genuine banknote paper should be reasonably crisp and not limp, waxy or shiny and the special printing processes give banknotes an individual feel. It should not feel like normal paper.
Watermark
Genuine watermarks should be hardly apparent until the note is held up to the light when the clear portrait with subtle light and shade becomes visible. The watermark on RBS is an image of Lord Ilay who appears on the front of the banknotes.
Security Thread
Genuine notes have a metallic thread embedded in the paper and when the note is held up to the light the thread appears as a bold continuous line
Printing
Raised print is used in some of the features on genuine banknotes and should feel slightly rough to the touch. Lines and print should be sharp and well defined with no blurred edges. Colours should be clear and distinct – not hazy. The wording on RBS banknotes is in raised print
Move/Tilt
If a genuine note bears a hologram the colours/images will change depending on the angle the note is held
Detector Pen
When applied; detector pens leave a dark line on most counterfeit notes; if the note is genuine the pen leaves no mark. We recommend that you mark a suspect banknote diagonally from corner to corner
UV Light
Genuine banknotes are dull under a UV light with only the special UV features present in the note highlighted yellow
Magnifying Glass
Genuine notes contain some microprint that is only visible using a magnifying glass. On a genuine note the print should be sharp and well defined with no blurred edges. On RBS banknotes microprint features within the block of colour at the bottom of the front of the note and should read ‘RBSRBSRBSRBS’ and the line above this block of colour should read ‘The Royal Bank of Scotland’
(Source: RBS)
Serial Numbers
Genuine notes have unique serial numbers therefore if you have two notes displaying the same serial number at least one of them is a counterfeit
Paper
Genuine banknote paper should be reasonably crisp and not limp, waxy or shiny and the special printing processes give banknotes an individual feel. It should not feel like normal paper.
Watermark
Genuine watermarks should be hardly apparent until the note is held up to the light when the clear portrait with subtle light and shade becomes visible. The watermark on RBS is an image of Lord Ilay who appears on the front of the banknotes.
Security Thread
Genuine notes have a metallic thread embedded in the paper and when the note is held up to the light the thread appears as a bold continuous line
Printing
Raised print is used in some of the features on genuine banknotes and should feel slightly rough to the touch. Lines and print should be sharp and well defined with no blurred edges. Colours should be clear and distinct – not hazy. The wording on RBS banknotes is in raised print
Move/Tilt
If a genuine note bears a hologram the colours/images will change depending on the angle the note is held
Detector Pen
When applied; detector pens leave a dark line on most counterfeit notes; if the note is genuine the pen leaves no mark. We recommend that you mark a suspect banknote diagonally from corner to corner
UV Light
Genuine banknotes are dull under a UV light with only the special UV features present in the note highlighted yellow
Magnifying Glass
Genuine notes contain some microprint that is only visible using a magnifying glass. On a genuine note the print should be sharp and well defined with no blurred edges. On RBS banknotes microprint features within the block of colour at the bottom of the front of the note and should read ‘RBSRBSRBSRBS’ and the line above this block of colour should read ‘The Royal Bank of Scotland’
(Source: RBS)
What we'd like to know
We're really interested in knowing how these fake notes are getting out there in your community, so here's the key information we're collecting.
- Where are they coming from?
- Who is selling them?
- What online platforms are being used for selling them (e.g. Facebook, eBay etc.)?
- How much do they cost?
- What denominations are available?
- Do any businesses knowingly accept them?
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