Christmas markets are very popular during Advent. Criminals take advantage of this - among other things, to put counterfeit money into circulation. This mainly affects 10, 20 and 50 euro banknotes. The Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany reports this on its Facebook page .
The BKA advises: When paying in cash – for example at Christmas markets – pay attention to the security features of the banknotes. These include, among other things, the watermark, the hologram stripe and the emerald number.
What stands out here are banknote images with labels such as “Movie Money”, “Prop copy” or “copy”, which can be immediately recognized as counterfeit money when checked. Do not give back or pass on counterfeit money - call the police immediately!
Feel, see, tilt!
How do I recognize counterfeit money?
The cash is equipped with a variety of verifiable authenticity features. Careful checking of several security features by those involved in payment transactions is the most effective protection against accepting counterfeit money. The current counterfeits vary in terms of their quality and the imitation of the security features.
Therefore:
If you want to recognize counterfeit money, you have to know the real money!
- Make sure you memorize the banknotes and their security features.
- Don't be fooled by what appears to be genuine on the surface, but pay attention to the safety features.
- When accepting money, take the time to check it carefully.
- Don't just check one security feature, always check multiple features.
- To check authenticity, it is particularly suitable to use a banknote that is undoubtedly genuine to compare it with a banknote that is suspected to be counterfeit.
- You can also use tools such as a magnifying glass or UV light to check the authenticity.
- If in doubt, have the cash checked at the nearest credit institution or a branch of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
How do I behave if I have received counterfeit money?
Anyone who accepts counterfeit money and recognizes it too late is harmed in several ways: they receive no compensation, and anyone who knowingly passes on counterfeit money is committing a criminal offense!
For your protection and to make it more difficult for counterfeiters to issue counterfeit banknotes, we advise you:
- If you suspect counterfeit money, notify the police immediately.
- Do not return the counterfeit money to the issuer and under no circumstances pass it on to other people. This can make you liable to prosecution!
- Try to get the counterfeit money issuer to stay until the police arrive. If this doesn't work, memorize his appearance. Write down the license plate number of any vehicle used.
- Put the counterfeit money in an envelope. Fingerprints are important traces!
- Hand over the counterfeit money to the police and provide relevant information.
In principle, however, the following applies: Do not do anything that could endanger yourself or other people!
Also read: WhatsApp scam with animated WhatsApp emoticons
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