Counterfeiters have existed throughout the history of money. Making money on your own in the amount that you need is the dream of many. It is not surprising that some are ready to lay down their lives trying to learn how to copy real currency as accurately as possible. And of course, at all times there were "kulibins" who succeeded. What are the most desirable currencies for counterfeiters?
Scandalous notes
Trunks of counterfeit banknotes are not unique to robbery films and spy novels. Every day, banks and governments are working hard to stop counterfeiters. Some do it better than others. We will highlight the countries with the smallest and largest amounts of counterfeit currency around the world.
CNY
As you know, corruption is rampant in China, and it is not surprising that the Chinese yuan tops the list of counterfeit world currency. In 2014, Chinese police confiscated 532 million counterfeit bills. Most were 50 ($ 8 / £ 5.65) and 100 yuan ($ 16 / £ 11.30) banknotes. Therefore, in 2015, in an attempt to root out the fraud, the People's Bank of China (Central Bank of the People's Republic of China) issued a new 100 yuan banknote.
Color changing ink
The 2015 100 yuan note still depicts Mao Zedong, but is printed in color-changing ink. Depending on the tilt, the number 100 shimmers from gold to green. In the same way, the new security line on the right side of the banknote changes its color from bright pink to green.
Greatest Booty Ever
But despite the government’s best efforts, there appears to be a large amount of counterfeit banknotes in China. The counterfeit 100 yuan notes sell for just 6. In late 2017 alone, in the largest counterfeiting case in modern Chinese history, the police confiscated more than 214 million yuan ($ 34 million / £ 24 million). Fortunately, not a single note was put into circulation.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is also at the top of the list of counterfeits. In total, over the past 10 years, the Reserve Bank of India has discovered 4.27 million counterfeit money. Approximately 1.3 million of these are in 100 rupees ($ 1.53 / £ 1.10) bills, 2 million is 500 rupees ($ 7.70 / £ 5.50) and about 701,002 - 1,000 rupees ($ 15.30 / £ 11) ...
The withdrawal of banknotes is cheaper
After attempts by the Indian government to resolve the issue of counterfeit currency, its amount has more than halved in 2014-2015. Therefore, in 2016, India decided to get rid of the 500 and 1000 rupee notes. They were often copied by counterfeiters, and workers who did not want to disclose their income accumulated it.
International operation
The Indian government believes fraudsters from Pakistan are involved in the counterfeiting. They are subordinate to the Pakistani military intelligence (MIR), which wants to undermine the Indian economy in this way. Obviously, Pakistan was able to establish the production of counterfeit Indian currency in the city of Dubai and smuggle it into India through Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
New Zealand dollar
On the other side of the coin is the Qiwi ($ 0.72 / £ 0.50). This currency is the least counterfeit in the world. There is only one counterfeit banknote or coin for 1 million in circulation.But, although the Reserve Bank of New Zealand confirms that they have a low level of counterfeiting compared to other countries, they still monitor the creation of banknotes and coins as secure as maybe.
Plastics to the masses
To make it harder to counterfeit the New Zealand dollar, it is made of polymer (a type of plastic). The banknotes also have several security features that make them not so easy to copy: each banknote has two transparent margins. One of them is oval and embossed with the denomination of the note. The other is in the form of a curved fern leaf. On a real banknote, both fields must be correctly positioned. But if they seem to be glued, then questions may arise.
South Korean won
Unlike neighboring North Korea, where vast amounts of US dollars are counterfeited, South Korea has only one counterfeit won in 455,000 in circulation. This country has strengthened the protective properties of its money. To contain the boom of fakes from 1990 to 2000, the design was redesigned. A beautiful banknote was designed with colorful inscriptions and faces of historically significant people on the one hand and landscapes of Korean nature on the other.
Norwegian krone
The Norwegian krone is also at the bottom of the list of counterfeit currencies. This is supported by the fact that the top news last summer was the discovery of only 20 counterfeit 50 kronor notes ($ 6.40 / £ 4.55)! Compared to other countries, Norwegians do not depict famous people on their banknotes. After a competition for a new design, the main theme was the country's connection to the sea.
The most beautiful money in the world
These banknotes were greeted with the words "the most beautiful in the world" after their release last year. Each bill has an image on the marine theme. For example: 50 crowns depicts a lighthouse, the same is located in the northernmost point of Norway, 100 crowns - the largest surviving Viking ship, and 200 crowns - a large cod.
Canadian dollar
In 2011, Canada ditched paper money in favor of plastic ones made from polypropylene. This resulted in a significant 74% reduction in fraud in 2015, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But in the same year, the Canadian dollar was still # 5 for counterfeiting. Every dollar worth $ 36,000 was counterfeit.
Protective measures against fraudsters
On the Canadian banknotes, above the image of the building, there is a translucent window in which an iridescent portrait can be seen. Below it is the transparent, slightly raised word "Canada". In addition, a small frosted window in the form of a maple leaf protects the bill from counterfeiting. It has a transparent border and hidden numbers inside that are visible only in low light.
Skillful counterfeiters
But despite all the clever ways to protect themselves, scammers could catch up. Waterloo County Police said the number of counterfeiting crimes quadrupled last year (from 20-25 to 95). Apparently the counterfeiters have become more skillful. They cut out holograms from $ 5 bills and pasted them into $ 20 bills.
Mexican peso
Mexico has a hell of a lot of counterfeit currency. According to the Bank of Mexico, approximately 71 banknotes for every million are counterfeit. This is what put the country in the 4th place in the world for counterfeiting money in 2015. In the same year, the bank identified 306,063 counterfeit bills worth 99.1 million pesos or $ 5.4 million (3.8 million.The most common were counterfeit 20 pesos ($ 1.10 / £ 0.70), 100 pesos ($ 5.47 / £ 3.90) and 500 pesos ($ 27.40 / £ 19.54).
Defending the Peso
The Mexican authorities are trying to force the population to donate suspicious money to the bank. But, since people do not receive a real bill in exchange for a counterfeit, these attempts are unsuccessful. The bills themselves are also changed. They are made polymer, with the addition of holograms and color-changing ink.
Euro
Given the huge area and the number of countries where the euro is used, it is not at all surprising that this currency is on the 3rd place for counterfeiting. According to data from illicittrade.com/Avansa, there has been one counterfeit bill for every 23,000 euros since 2015. The first place is occupied by 20 euros (24.48 dollars / 17.47 pounds), the second - 50 euros (61.20 dollars / 43.70 pounds).In the first half of 2017, these bills accounted for 85% of all detected counterfeits.
Touch, examine and tilt
Since the release of the first euro series, the Eurosystem, which is made up of the European Central Bank and 19 national central banks in the euro area, has encouraged people to be vigilant when receiving bills and verify their authenticity using the “touch, look and tilt” method.
Series "Europe"
In 2013, to stem the influx of counterfeit bills, the European Central Bank introduced a new monetary design called the Europe Series. It features more sophisticated security features: a security thread and a holographic portrait. In the first half of next year, the Eurosystem plans to issue new notes of 100 and 200 euros, the rest are already in circulation.
U.S. dollar
Save your bucks! The US dollar is the second most falsified currency in the world. According to illicittrade.com, there was one fake dollar for every 10,000 in 2015. In the United States, the most common counterfeit is the $ 20 bill, while foreign counterfeiters are more willing to make $ 100.
Strengthening the Benjamins
Among other features, the new $ 100 bill has a blue 3D ribbon woven next to Benjamin Franklin's face. If the banknote is tilted, then the images of bells and the numbers 100 will move from side to side. It also features an embossed print with a color-changing number 100 in the lower right corner and micro-text on Franklin's collar. All of these are carefully linked to enhance security.
The best counterfeiters in the world
Peru is the world capital of high quality counterfeit US dollars. The gangs that specialize in this take pride in (practically) excellence in their work. In November 2016, the US Secret Service announced the seizure of the largest batch of counterfeit currency at the time. They found $ 30 million (£ 21 million) dumped in Lima apartment buildings.
Pound sterling
Bad news for the British: The United Kingdom is home to the most counterfeit currency in the world. According to Avansa, at least 1 out of 30 pounds was counterfeited in 2015. According to the Royal Mint, approximately 347,000 counterfeit notes worth £ 7.5 million ($ 10.5 million) have been removed from circulation. Most of the notes were 20 pounds.
Is there any use?
Counterfeiters in Britain, unlike some other countries, are also targeting coin counterfeiting. The Royal Mint has determined that about 2.5% of the 1.6 billion 1 pound coins are counterfeit. Because of this, they had to make it 12-sided last year. The coin features a hologram and a secret high-tech feature that prevents copying.
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