Festive forgeries

Historically counterfeit bank notes have been a problem for UK businesses and in years gone by it was extremely easy to be tricked out by worthless fakes. Thankfully the introduction of the newer polymer notes has meant that the number of forgeries floating around in circulation has now gone down, but despite the extra security features, scammers are constantly finding more sophisticated ways of producing forgeries and in some locations the prevalence of fake notes seems to be returning. Over the last 2 years new types of forgeries have entered circulation with £20 notes remaining the most forged type of bank notes. Scottish banknotes also a popular choice for criminals attempting to create more sophisticated fakes. New technology has made these notes even harder to spot and several European countries including Germany, Denmark and Czech Republic are also seeing a marked rise in forgeries.

So, what can be done to make sure your organisation doesn’t find itself saddled with worthless banknotes and a bottom-line loss?

Firstly, it is important to know how to identify a forgery. With some of these such notes it can be extremely obvious - they make feel or look different and will be easy to spot. In contrast others will be extremely hard to distinguish from the real thing, the use of increasingly skilled printers to produce more refined high-quality counterfeit paper means that using human sight or touch to identify them will be harder than ever. Furthermore, retail environments are extremely busy – especially at Christmas - and it is very difficult for a rushed employee to take the time to check notes properly. In addition, it can sometimes be very uncomfortable to check a note in front of a customer or even to call over a colleague or manager to double check. By nature, someone using these notes could place pressure on a cashier to accept the currency or act in a disgruntled or threatening manner. As such, it is often hard to question the validity of each note in a subtle manor.

Despite the difficulty in in identifying counterfeits it is still extremely important to try – particularly for smaller businesses who need to avoid bottom line losses at all costs. Once a forged bank note is accepted by a retailer it is worthless, it can’t be banked and, although it will need to be returned to the Bank of England, it will not be reimbursed meaning the loss is sustained directly by the business who accepted it.

Don’t leave counterfeit identification to chance

In days gone by a forged note could often be identified by holding it up to the light or rubbing the note between your fingers. As mentioned above those days are gone and businesses need to look at more intelligent solutions. This is where cash handling experts such as Loomis can help.

Our SafePoint Compact smart safe device incorporates forgery detector functionality and is small enough to fit directly under your countertop so that notes can be run directly through the validator quickly and subtly at the point of sale. This causes minimum fuss or embarrassment. It detects all known forgeries as they are fed into the device and will not accept any counterfeit notes.

Our technology is updated as the notes are to account for any Bank of England changes and is also able to detect Scottish note forgeries. The SafePoint Compact Smart Safe from Loomis not only checks notes, it validates, counts, and securely stores banknotes and includes cash transportation to your bank when the machine reaches capacity. As it fits neatly under your till point it keeps cash out of sight meaning cash is only touched once between POS and your bank. What’s more, the contents of the safe are fully insured by Loomis and the related reporting software included in the price allows you to have a complete online view of all transactions at all sites.

Luckily due to counterfeit detection devices such as that featured in the SafePoint smart safe the majority of forged notes are detected and removed from circulation. At the end of 2023 the FSB Federation of Small Businesses partnered with the Bank of England’s Checking Scheme which offers retailers advice when faced with a counterfeit banknote. They advised:

• Be aware that the majority of people trying to use counterfeit notes will usually try to buy a low-value item using a high-value note.
• Businesses that accept counterfeits are often targeted repeatedly, so don’t assume it’s a one-off.
• Although the introduction of polymer notes heavily reduced counterfeits, there are now new deceptive polymer counterfeits doing the rounds.
• Always make sure your entire team are trained on counterfeits so they can confidently check notes at POS.
• Try to stay up-to-date with best practices on how to deal with counterfeits and also important banknote developments by checking the Bank of England website - updated advice was issued on spotting new King Charles III banknote forgeries following their recent release.

Do discover more about how our SafePoint Compact SmartSafe can protect your business from accepting forgeries get in touch with our team (link get in touch with contact form).