Euro counterfeits are becoming more and more common and the quality of the forged banknotes is improving all the time.

According to the European Central Bank (ECB) a total of 307,223 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the first half of 2004. This figure includes recoveries from both euro area and non-euro area countries.

Also in countries such as Sweden, where the euro is not used as the national currency, the amount of fake Euros is increasing together with the acceptance of the currency in the shops. It is hard for the cashiers to recognise the fake euros, especially if they have limited experience from the euros. A storekeeper who has accepted a counterfeit euro note will have to pay for the loss himself.

The ECB cooperates very closely with Europol, Interpol and the European Commission in the fight against counterfeiting. Anyone who receives a counterfeit should hand it in either to the local police, or to the central bank, giving as many details as possible about when and how they acquired it.

Anyone can readily identify the overwhelming majority of counterfeit euro banknotes by using the simple FEEL-LOOK-TILT method described in the Eurosystem's information material:

Feel
- the banknote paper: it is crisp and firm.
- the print: it is raised in some parts. Run your finger over it or scratch it gently with your fingernail.

Look
at the banknote against the light and check
- the watermark. Put the banknote on a dark surface and the light areas of the watermark become darker.
- the see-through register: incomplete marks printed in the top corner on both sides of the banknote combine perfectly to form the value.
- the security thread: the thread will appear as a dark stripe. The word “EURO” and the value can be seen in tiny letters on that stripe.

Tilt
the banknote to see:
- the moving image in the hologram stripe (€ 5, €10, €20): the hologram image will change between the value and the € symbol.
- the moving image in the hologram patch (€ 50, €100, €200, €500): the hologram image changes between the value and a window or doorway.
- the glossy stripe (€ 5, €10, €20): a gold-coloured stripe on the reverse side appears. It shows the value and the € symbol.
- the colour-shifting ink (€ 50, €100, €200, €500): the value numeral on the reverse side changes colour from purple to olive green or brown.

SCAN COIN offers simple, but yet sofisticated and very reliable products that can help store keepers fight the counterfeits, right at the counter. Read more about our currency counters and counterfeit detectors in the Products & Solutions section.