There appears to be a few cases of counterfeit banknotes doing the rounds across South Wales so we thought we’d pull together a short guide to help you in identifying them.
Remember counterfeit banknotes are rare but it pays to be careful as they are also worthless.
You cannot be reimbursed for counterfeit banknotes. If you suspect that you have a counterfeit banknote, please take it to your nearest police station. The police should fill out an NCO-1 form and provide you with a receipt and incident number. The suspect notes will be sent to the National Crime Agency and if counterfeit to the Bank of England for further examination.
If there is insufficient information to pursue an investigation or the circumstances are not suspicious then please return the notes to the Bank of England using one of the forms on their website HERE.
There’s a series of booklets available to download from the bank of England.
- CHECK YOU BANKNOTES BOOKLET
- CHECK YOUR BANKNOTES BOOKLET (WELSH)
- CHECK YOUR BANKNOTES POSTER
- CHECK YOUR BANKNOTES POSTER (WELSH)
The Bank of England also have a really useful online training section which you can take HERE.
If you have information about someone making, selling or using counterfeit banknotes, please contact the police or phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Counterfeiting directly funds organised crime. It hurts the UK economy by creating losses for businesses, which ultimately affects the cost of things that we buy. It also affects the pocket of anyone who receives a counterfeit note, as the notes are worthless. If you report counterfeiting to the police, you are helping with investigations and alerting them to a problem in their area. This means they can take action to protect your community.
