Warning! Fraudulent banknotes circulating in the city
Provincial Police Spokesperson, Lt Col Moatshe Ngoepe, urged residents to acquaint themselves with the various security features used to identify bank notes and to be extra vigilant when accepting payment.
POLOKWANE – He also urged residents to report people dealing in fraud of any nature to the police.
This warning comes after several businesses and banks in the city reported counterfeit R100 and R200 have been used at their institutions.
The owner of a spaza shop in Flora Park, Betty Malan, said her shop had received several of the counterfeit notes. “I only realised the money was counterfeit when I went to bank some of the money and the teller informed me that some of the notes were counterfeit,” she explained. Malan was informed by bank personnel that the magnetic strip on the notes she tried to bank did not change colour in the light and that the watermark was different to that on an authentic note. A local chain store manager, Michael Delport, told BONUS he was informed by bank personnel that some of the money he was banking was fraudulent.
Security features on South African money include:
- A watermark formed within the paper – When held up to the light, the image is visible and will not produce on colour copiers.
- A security thread running through the banknote paper – A special thread is woven into the paper. On the front, it appears as a silvery stripe. When held up to direct light, it appears as a continuous line on which the letters “SARB” can be seen.
- High quality paper – The texture of the paper is noticeably different.
- Print quality – The fineness of the print quality on a banknote is difficult for scanning equipment to resolve properly. Intaglio printing, where thick ink lends a raised surface to the print surface, is difficult to reproduce cheaply.
What to do when you receive a banknote, according to the South African Reserve Bank:
- Study the various security features built into our banknotes.
- Make a habit of checking the banknotes you receive for these features.
- Don’t hesitate or feel embarrassed about holding a banknote up to the light, feeling for intaglio printing or flicking the banknote and listening for the characteristic sound.
- If you’re in a bank, insist on the manager (and the police) being called. If you’ve received the money from a customer at work, call the police immediately. Under no circumstances be a hero. Just get the banknote replaced, leave and report the matter to the police.
