Counterfeit Money: A Billion Pound Problem

With the increase of digital payments and self-checkout systems, you might think that counterfeit money is no longer an issue or affects your business. But unfortunately, that’s far from the truth. Just last year Europol discovered and confiscated more than 1 billion pounds worth of counterfeit banknotes and coins.

An international collaboration

The operation - coordinated by Europol and led by Austria, Portugal, and Spain - focussed on catching counterfeiters that distributed their products through postal services.

Over the course of the six-month operation, authorities from 18 different countries worked together, and successfully intercepted 379 parcels containing counterfeit money. These parcels contained more than 7 million counterfeit items, including:

- 4.8 million fake euro banknotes and coins
- 2.3 million fake US Dollar items
- 23.302 fake British Pound items
- 4.800 fake Swiss Franc items

The total value of all these counterfeits? More than 1 billion pounds! An incredibly high value that could have hurt multiple economies and thousands of businesses.

Counterfeiters are evolving

With the digitalisation of the world, it becomes easier for criminals to create passible counterfeits. But they are not only evolving in the way they create their products, they are also inventing new ways to distribute them.

Unlike traditional counterfeit operations that relied on physical distribution, many modern networks are now using postal and parcel services to move their counterfeits across borders.

By sending small shipments through regular delivery channels, criminals attempt to avoid detection while distributing counterfeit money across multiple countries. When these parcels reach their destination, the counterfeits can quickly spread through local markets and businesses.

Why businesses need to stay alert

Counterfeit money remains a real threat for any business that deals with cash transactions. By accepting counterfeits, you not only lose the value of the transaction, but you also lose the trust of your customers. Businesses that do not check the money they accept and give out actually help the distribution of counterfeits - and therefore contribute to the success of the criminal organisations that spread them.

That’s why business must stay alert and make sure that each transaction is genuine. If not, they risk both their financial health and reputation.

Stopping counterfeits is easy

The idea of accepting counterfeits (and what is does) can be scary, but stopping them is actually really easy. Safescan offers multiple counterfeit detection products that help you determine - with certainty - if your transactions are genuine or not.

It only takes one second or one good look to prevent harmful losses and damaged reputations. Discover our counterfeit detectors now to protect yourself, your team, and your business.

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