Crime & Law

Gardaí issue counterfeit money alert after significant increase in fake note circulation

More than 700 incidents logged during 2024 in contrast to 130 across corresponding period last year

Counterfeit note given in at a pub in Dorset Street in Dublin. For article on fake notes by Alekson Lacerda in Nov 2024
A counterfeit note passed in a Dorset Street pub, north central Dublin this month. Photograph: The Irish Times
Alekson Lacerda
Mon Nov 18 2024 - 06:00

There has been a significant increase in reports to An Garda Síochána of counterfeit currency in circulation.

New figures indicate more than 700 incidents have been reported to gardaí between January and October 2024 compared with approximately 130 in the same period last year.

The most common denominations of counterfeit banknotes detected are €50 notes followed by €20 notes, said a Garda spokesman.

Businesses and their staff have been urged to be vigilant.

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“Business owners should be particularly mindful if someone is attempting to pay for an inexpensive item with a large note in an attempt to get a large sum of change in real money,” said gardaí.

[ 'There are so many people these days with fake money': Dublin retailers on rising counterfeit issue ]

“Organised crime plays a significant role in the production and distribution of counterfeit currency. An Garda Síochána continues to liaise with other law enforcement agencies as part of Operation Decoy which is a joint customs and police operation aimed to disrupt the distribution of counterfeit currency via postal services around Europe. This operation is aimed at enhancing security and combating organised crime,” they said.

Businesses on Moore Street, Dublin, said they had seen increasing evidence of fake notes in circulation. “It’s a trend now … in the last couple of months we’ve witnessed that … a lot of people trying to pass it around,” said Street vendor Caroline Alwright.

The Irish Times spoke to workers and owners at 25 shops, cafes, markets and pubs in central Dublin and only four said they had not come across anyone attempting to pay with forged notes over the past six months.

[ Counterfeit cash investigation: Garda search operation results in seizure of almost €100,000 ]

A Central Bank of Ireland spokesman said, however, there are many security features incorporated into euro banknotes that make them difficult to recreate.

“The central bank reports figures as part of the wider Eurosystem. The ECB Annual Report 2023 reported that across the Eurosystem in 2023, 16 counterfeit banknotes were detected per million genuine banknotes in circulation. Despite this very small proportion, the number of counterfeit banknotes increased compared with 2022, when the number of counterfeits was exceptionally low following the Covid-19 pandemic. There is little likelihood of receiving a counterfeit. Most counterfeits are of low quality with no or only very poor imitations of security features.

[ Fake €2 coins circulating, gardaí warn after ‘first seizure of its type’ in Ireland ]

“Many of these features can be checked manually using the Feel-Look-Tilt test,” it said. Feel its unique texture due to specialised printing techniques. Check the look by exposing the cash to light to reveal the security thread, watermark and portrait window. Tilt the note, the silvery stripe displays a portrait of Europa in a transparent window, and the emerald number shows a shifting light effect. Special instruments are needed to verify some of the banknote’s security features.”