Islanders warned about fake notes

The States of Jersey Police are reminding islanders to be vigilant with their cash following two attempts to purchase goods over the weekend with forged notes.

The attempts to use the £10 notes happened in two separate shops in St Helier on Saturday and while these incidents are rare it always pays to be careful.

Police advice is that if you come across a counterfeit note always contact police. Officers may be aware of other retailers or businesses in the area who have also reported counterfeit notes, and additional information may lead to an arrest. Counterfeit banknotes are part of organised criminal activity. Each counterfeit note is evidence.

Inspector Harry Carre said: “Our advice is to remain vigilant at all times, and check all notes as they are being passed in payment.

“Counterfeiters will target businesses where they know that banknotes are not being checked.

“The key message is to be aware; this is very rare but can be incredibly frustrating if you have been passed a worthless note.”

General advice -

• As a rule of thumb the paper should be crisp rather than limp.
• The writing with the flourishes should be very slightly raised and the overall print quality very fine and detailed. These features won't be so apparent in worn notes.
• The colours should be sharp and not blurred.
• If held up to the light a watermark should be visible. Like all other tests this is not fool proof. Some forgers are adept at imitating watermarks.
• The metal thread looks like a dotted line when put on a surface but solid when held up to light.
• Do not rely on a single feature.
• For businesses - if you do get a counterfeit banknote, retain the suspect note without putting staff at risk. Give the customer a receipt, explaining that the note will be handed to Police. Explain that suspect notes subsequently discovered to be genuine will be returned. Call the Police and hand them the counterfeit note. They will send the suspect note to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Counterfeit notes are subsequently sent to the Bank of England for analysis.