fake currency notes

[BATMAN]

Banks alerted on fake currency notes
By Azhar Mahmood
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=64093

KARACHI: The Pakistan Banks Association (PBA), a representative body of the commercial banks, has alerted the banking sector about new Rs500 fake currency notes.

Sources in the banking industry said on Wednesday that however it has been reported that the “volume of these fake notes is very low.”

The PBA said the quality and printing of these fake notes makes it difficult to distinguish them from the genuine notes.

It said some banks use automatic counting machines, which cannot differentiate between real and fake notes.

Moreover, not every cashier in a bank is trained to identify fake notes.

The perpetrators are not in the forefront and in most cases customers or depositors are the victims of fraud of receiving these counterfeit currency notes.

The following traits of these counterfeit notes have been detected.

In the case of texture, these fake currency notes are very smooth as compared with the original, which has a rough cotton-based texture.

The colour used in the printing process is permanent on the face of the note. However, the ink used for the back side displays signs of smudging when water is applied to it.

There is sharpness in the print quality of the original, which to the trained eye is easily noticeable. However to the common man, in a bundle of notes, it will not be detected.

Instead of the water mark, there is a light background printing which is similar in size than the original water mark.

When the note is held against normal light, the metallic thread appears as darkish line. When subjected to ultra violet light the security thread displays yellow and pink highlighted strips. There is no such differentiation in colour in the fake note.

The PBA expressed the opinion that detection of fake notes comes with experience. Bulk handling of cash does not allow for each note to be scrutinized under the ultra violet light.

It said therefore it is imperative that handlers of currency notes accustom themselves to the feel, touch and specifications of the new-design notes.