Want to identify fake notes?

Making fake notes has been menacing the society from many years. People find it to be the simplest way to make quick bucks without much effort. With development in the printing technology, counterfeiting has become an even more serious problem. It is a problem potential to ruin the whole world economy. In India, there is an older series of notes from Rs 10 to Rs 100 that have an Ashoka pillar watermark and Ashoka effigy as well and Rs 500 notes with a pillar watermark and a Mahatma Gandhi portrait. Watermarks are easy to check but also easier to counterfeit compared to newer security features. So let’s learn a few more features in these notes that are easy to identify as well as solid proofs of authenticity.

• Paper: Genuine notes are printed on metallic combination papers which have a very different feel from ordinary paper. They produce a crackling sound.

• Watermark: To check the watermark, hold the paper up to the light. Real notes will have the watermark in the paper. Counterfeiters will print the watermark on to the paper.

• Clarity of printing: Under close scrutiny the detail of fake notes will look messy and lack the detail that can be seen in real notes.

• Quality of printing: Real notes are printed on "intaglio" presses which raise the ink off the paper and give it a unique textured feel. If the printing on your note is flat, it could be a fake.

• Metal thread: Sometimes counterfeiters try to "hot foil" a strip onto the note - but on any real note this should run through the paper.

• Hologram: Real notes will have a high quality hologram, but counterfeiters try to get round this by printing an ultra fine foil on to the note.

• Serial numbers: Genuine notes have individual serial numbers. But forgers will often not bother - so if two or more of your notes have the same numbers then they're fake.

But in most cases, serial numbers appear to be genuine and we cant simply doubt its authenticity. It is difficult for everyone to identify a real hologram or metal thread. Indeed nowadays crooks have mastered the process of making neat and genuine looking notes. To recognize notes in this case, click the tab below.

See the embedded security thread

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued the newer Mahatma Gandhi series with improved security features in notes of higher denominations like Rs 1,000. These notes have both a Gandhi watermark and a Gandhi portrait. Most of the modern security features are evident only in notes of higher denomination i.e. above Rs 10 and 20. The most prominent of these features is the embedded security thread, which is to the left of the Gandhi portrait. The thread is partly exposed and partly embedded but if held against the light it can be seen as a continuous line. The thread contains the words Bharat (in the Devnagari script) and RBI appearing alternately; in addition the figures '1000' appear on the Rs 1,000 note. Older notes also contain a security thread but they are too small to be read.

Note the optically variable ink

Another feature on the new Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes is the optically variable ink, which means that the colour of the main numeral in the middle changes from green when the note is held flat to blue when it is seen at an angle. Some of the features are rather difficult to spot; for instance a hidden image of the note's value which is seen on the vertical band to the right of Gandhi's portrait. You can see the value only if you hold the note in your palm and allow light to fall on it at 45 degrees. The minute lettering denoting the value of the note lying between the portrait and the vertical band is equally difficult to spot.

This is no longer a problem if you use a magnifying glass to see it. Some features can only be spotted by using specialized equipment like ultraviolet lamps; for instance panels which are printed in fluorescent ink and optical fibres.

Note the intaglio printing

Several features on the notes including the Gandhi portrait, the Ashoka and RBI seals and the RBI governor's signature are printed slightly raised so that they can be felt when your hand passes lightly over the note. This is known as intaglio printing. Some of the security features are non-visual, instead they make sound or you can just feel them; for instance genuine notes produce a crackling sound when handled since they are printed on metallic combination papers. Another intaglio feature is a special mark to the left of the watermark. Each denomination has its own shape: Rs 20 - vertical rectangle, Rs 50 - square, Rs 100 - triangle, Rs 500 - circle and Rs 1000 - diamond. Additionally these security features also help the visually challenged distinguish notes of different denominations.

Dip the note in water

There is another such feature all of us can check at home. Have you ever drained a currency note in water and then rubbed it using your fingers? If you try this, nothing will happen to a genuine note whereas a counterfeit note will immediately tear or loose its colour on trying this.

Don’t live in India? Identify your own national currency. To know how to identify fake dollars, click the link below-

http://www.ehow.com/how_2242996_new-fake-five-dollar-bill.html>

To know how to identify fake Euros, click the link below- http://info.hktdc.com/alert/eu0407e.htm

SOURCES

specials.rediff.com/getahead/2007/feb/23slide1.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crooked_britain/2680427.stm

News clips from India TV and Aaj Tak.

A paper cutting from "The Times of India"

* This is an advertisement issued by the government of India on recognising fake notes.