ECB reports on counterfeit banknotes
Almost half a million counterfeit bills removed in the second half of 2009
The European Central Bank withdrew 447,000 counterfeit euro notes in the second half of 2009, an increase of 8.2% compared to the 413,000 withdrawn in the first half of the year and an increase of 55.7% compared to the second quarter of 2004, when the number of recovered notes reached 287,000, according to a statement from the institution.
However, the ECB points out that, although the total amount of counterfeit notes has increased, it has done so "to a lesser extent than in previous semesters". In this regard, it indicates that if these figures are compared with the increasing number of authentic euro notes in circulation, an average of 12.800 billion during the second semester of 2009, the proportion of counterfeit notes in circulation "remains very small".
The 20 euro note is once again the most counterfeited. 47% of the counterfeit notes detected were 20 euros and 39% of the recovered ones were 50 euros. The sum of the three intermediate denominations (20 euros, 50 euros and 100 euros) represented 97% of the total counterfeit notes. The proportion of counterfeits of higher denominations (200 euros and 500 euros) was very small (1% and 0.5% respectively).
On the other hand, more than 98% of the majority of counterfeit banknotes withdrawn in the second half of 2009 were detected in Eurozone countries, while around 1% were located in EU member states not belonging to the Eurozone, and less than 0.5% were recovered in other parts of the world.
The Eurosystem, which includes the European Central Bank (ECB) and the sixteen national central banks of the euro zone, advised citizens to remain vigilant in relation to the banknotes they receive in cash transactions.
In this regard, he stressed that the Eurosystem makes "great effort to ensure that citizens are properly informed about how to recognize a counterfeit note and, in the case of professionals in charge of cash handling, that the note treatment and processing machines can reliably identify counterfeit notes and remove them from circulation."
Thus, he recalled that authentic bills "can be easily recognized using the simple 'Touch-Look-Tilt' method" and added that, in case of doubt, the suspicious bill should be directly compared with a bill that is known to be authentic.
"Anyone who suspects that they may have received a counterfeit bill should go to the police or, in cases where national practice allows it, to the corresponding national central bank," he added.
The number of counterfeit euro notes withdrawn by the ECB drops by 13% until June
Europe Press19/07/2010
Europe Press19/07/2010
A total of 387,000 counterfeit euro notes were removed from circulation in the first half of 2010, a figure that represents a decrease of nearly 13% compared to the amount recovered in the previous six months and the first decline since mid-2006, according to a statement released today by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The 50 euro note was the most counterfeited in the first half of the year, accounting for 42.5% of all counterfeit notes detected, followed by the 20 euro note, with 41.5%, and the 100 euro note, with 12% of the total recovered. The least counterfeited notes were the 5 and 500 euro notes (0.5%), followed by the 10 and 200 euro notes (1.5% each).
The majority (over 98%) of counterfeit banknotes withdrawn in the first half of 2010 were detected in countries within the Eurozone, with only around 1% in EU member states not belonging to the Eurozone and less than 0.5% in other parts of the world.
