Counterfeit Notes, Economy, & Legality

With inflation at 12.40% the market for few of criminal activities has opened up four fold. One of the major criminal activities that not only has spread silently but also affects our economy. Counterfeit currency is another genus of terrorism unleashed by anti-nationals & the terrorists to jeopardize the economy of the country.

The fake notes have become so very common that you may land up collecting them form the ATM’s as well. Recently from a bank’s currency chest fake notes have been seized. The quantum of currency note officially seized is not more than Rs 5 lakh in value, but modus operandi of this conspiracy, which is having enough potential to disrupt our already derailed economy, is no-doubt a matter of concern. One of the ways to control inflationary pressure is to unearth the prevalence of fake currency and black money in the economy & eradicate their circulation.

The law is lax on the circulators of fake currency. Anyone in possession of fake currency is targeted as an offender. If one submits the fake currency for remittance in the bank he is hauled up. The bankers are duty bound to report the matter to their Head Offices or controlling offices. To avoid the enquiry most of the customers allow the banker to deface the notes or burn the currency. Whenever we come across any counterfeit note, it’s our duty to report it to the police & make sure instead of them being destroyed; those notes are sent to RBI. Also, the banks have the duty to report the police about any counterfeit notes received by them. As per RBI notification no bank ATM should dispense fake notes & the customer’s complaint must be registered with RBI &. However, in practice, Banks silently destroy the note and suggest that the customer forget the incident to avoid any kind of harassment by the police. It’s actually Bank’s responsibility to reply the customer if fake notes are delivered to the customer via the ATM’s or in the counter therein.

Next time around please check your 500 & 1000 bucks carefully. Even incases of ATM withdrawal get it re-confirmed by your banker immediately. Few of the things to check in a note are:

There are few things you can check:

• When a note is held bright light in the watermark window (the enclosure right above the Ashoka Pillar emblem), a Gandhi portrait will zoom into focus. Look closely at the finely-etched multi-directional lines, and at the expression on Gandhi’s face…. In a fake note, because there are no lines and no shading, it will look like a caricature.
• The serial number on top will be slightly smaller on fake notes.
• The quality of paper will be a little thicker.
• There is a small floral design on the front (hollow) and back (filled-up) of the note. It is in the middle of the vertical band to the left of the watermark. When held up against light, it appears as one design. In a fake note, the design distorts since the printing machine can only print one side at a time. So, two designs are visible instead of one.
• In an Rs 500 note, circle-shaped marks in intaglio on the left of the watermark window helps the visually impaired identify the denomination. The shape varies with the denomination: Rs 20, vertical rectangle; Rs 50, square; Rs 100, triangle; Rs 1000, diamond. This feature can be imitated, but in a poor fake, the shape of the mark could be wrong.
• Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait, the RBI seal, the guarantee and promise clause, the Ashoka Pillar Emblem on the left and the RBI Governor’s signature are all printed in intaglio, that is, raised print which can be felt by running finger gently over note.
• A readable security thread lies to the left of the Mahatma’s portrait. On the obverse, it’s discontinuous with the inscriptions ‘Bharat’ (in Hindi), and ‘RBI’.
• On the reverse, it’s fully embedded with the two inscriptions appearing alternately. In a fake, the thread stands out unevenly on the obverse and on the reverse, the colour is blackish.
• The numeral 500 on the obverse is in colour-shifting ink. The numeral appears green when the note is held flat but changes to blue when the note is tilted. Notes issued before November 2000 don’t have this feature. In fake notes, the numeral’s colour will be pale and uniform.
• Place the note under a ultra-violet lamp and optical fibers and fluorescent number panels can be seen. The security thread too fluoresces (in blue) on the visible portion from obverse and as a continuous line from reverse. A fake note will glow blue uniformly; in an original, only the number panels and silver security line will glow.

  Reason: genuine notes are made of cotton pulp; fakes, made of wood pulp or paper, don’t lend themselves to differential fluorescence.

• Best seen under a magnifying glass, this feature appears between the vertical band and Mahatma Gandhi portrait. It contains the words ‘RBI’ and ‘500’ in micro letters. Rule of thumb: check for ‘500 RBI’ just behind Gandhiji’s ears. If it’s not there, the note is surely a fake.
• The vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait contains a latent image of the denomination in numeral. The image is visible when the note is held up at eye level and horizontally against light. In a real note, the numeral will show up clearly against the light whereas in fake, it will appear as a shadow, diffused and vague.

It’s our duty to be alert & aware. It helps not only us from being cheated but also helps us prevent ECONOMIC TERRORISM.

Tagged as: currency, Economy, finance, RBI, Revenue