COUNTERFEIT MONEY WARNING as FOOTAGE of fake £20 note with sticker holograms revealed
Business owners have been warned to look out for fake £20 notes as it's been revealed that some fraudsters are using stickers to convert prop money into super realistic counterfeit cash.
A video, posted by Nav BeardedBeys, shows a £20 note which has a seal sticker on it which mimics the holograms used on a genuine note.
The video shows a man taking the seal off to reveal the words 'prop note' and a hole where the hologram should be.
West Midlands Police have released information on what to do if you think you have been paid for service, or come across a fake note:
What should you do with counterfeit money?
"If you have found or been given cash that you believe may be counterfeit please take it into your local bank.
"If you work in a shop or business and someone has tried to pay with counterfeit money, try and keep the note if doing so will not place anyone in danger. Then take the note or notes to your local police station or report it by using our Live Chat facility, which can be accessed by clicking the button on the right of the screen.
”You can see our chat opening hours here. If Live Chat is unavailable call us on 101. Please make sure you provide as much information as you can."
What if the notes are dyed?
"If you find a dyed note, please tell us where you found it. You can do this by using our Live Chat facility, which can be accessed by clicking the button on the right of the screen. You can see our chat opening hours here. If Live Chat is unavailable call us on 101.
"If it is safe to do so, please preserve the dyed note, as it could help us in our investigation."
The Bank of England have published details on counterfeit notes as well as information on how many are likely to be in circulation, although exact figures can never be known.
The Bank of England website states: 'The vast majority of counterfeits are discovered before they go back into circulation, when retailers and the banking system are sorting them.
'A smaller number are detected by the public or retailers who hand them directly to the police, or when the police carry out search warrants. Counterfeits are typically removed from circulation quickly, often after a single use.
'In 2021 typically less than 0.0022% of banknotes were counterfeit, that is less than 1 in 40,000 banknotes. Some 103,000 counterfeit Bank of England banknotes with a nominal face value of £2.7 million were taken out of circulation. At any one time, there is around 4.7 billion genuine banknotes in circulation, with a notional face value of £84 billion.'