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Jewelry, a watch or a car has been sold, but instead of the agreed amount, the sellers are left with counterfeit money. Last year, in several cases, criminals forced euro money on a large scale from unsuspecting owners of luxury goods. This led to an increase in the number of counterfeit money in Germany and Europe.
According to the German Bundesbank, police, retailers and banks in Germany have removed almost 56,600 counterfeit euro notes from circulation. That was more than 28 percent more than a year earlier.
“The increase in counterfeit money is due to some larger cases of fraud, mainly involving counterfeit banknotes of 200 and 500 euros,” said Bundesbank board member Burkhard Balz. According to the Bundesbank, 8,763 counterfeit 200s were seized, compared to 2,396 a year earlier. The number of counterfeits of 500 euros increased from 989 to 2,641.
Production and issuance of the 500 euro banknote was stopped in 2019. However, the purple banknotes in circulation are still legal tender.
The amount of damage increased above average by almost 90 percent to 5.1 million euros, mainly as a result of dozens of fraud cases involving large amounts. The highest calculated loss due to counterfeit money in Germany was recorded in 2004 at 6.1 million euros.
Last year, a number of major fraud cases where sellers of luxury goods such as jewellery, watches and cars were defrauded with counterfeit 200s and 500s led to a rise in the figures. As a result, the amount of damage has almost doubled from 2.7 million euros in 2022 to 5.1 million euros last year.
Criminals use a simple trick to commit fraud: they first show the sellers of luxury goods bags full of real banknotes and then, in an unnoticed moment, exchange them for bags full of counterfeit money. Those affected have double misfortune: the valuable goods have disappeared and the counterfeit money will not be refunded.
Nevertheless, Balz reassures: “Despite the significantly higher number of counterfeits, the risk for normal citizens of coming into contact with counterfeit money is still low.”
According to calculations by the Bundesbank, there would be an average of seven counterfeit banknotes for every 10,000 inhabitants in Germany by 2023. “The numbers are a far cry from the all-time high of 2015,” Balz said. At that time, 95,400 flowers were withdrawn from circulation in Germany.
The number of euro flowers seized in Europe also rose sharply last year: by 24.2 percent to 467,000. On average there were 14 counterfeit notes per 10,000 inhabitants. The amount of damage increased year-on-year from 21.5 million to 25.0 million euros.
The Bundesbank also recorded a significant increase in the number of counterfeit coins in 2023. Nearly 115,900 units were withdrawn from circulation, compared to just under 73,400 a year earlier. The Bundesbank mainly explains this by saying that some companies raised suspiciously hard money over a long period of time and only transferred it to the Bundesbank last year.
“Overall, you can say that the quality of the counterfeits has not increased,” Balz emphasizes. “On the contrary, we have a large mass of counterfeit banknotes of very low quality.” For most counterfeits, a simple glance is enough to identify them as such.
Easily recognizable counterfeits made up a large proportion of flowers in Germany last year, namely 16 percent, especially of the 10 and 20 euro notes with the imprint “MovieMoney” or “Prop copy”. These banknotes, which are offered on the internet as play money or movie props, have no security features. Yet people still fall for it time and time again.
The owner of a grocery store in Ludwigshafen warned only the second time that a girl tried to pay with a counterfeit 20 euro note. The day before, the eleven-year-old had exchanged a note in the store with the text film money.
The euro currency watchdog is already working on new security features to make it even more difficult for criminals to imitate the banknotes. The European Central Bank (ECB) is allowing people in Europe to have a say in the redesign of the banknotes: last year, in surveys, citizens preferred themes from European culture, as well as rivers and birds as motifs.
However, it will take a few years before people get their hands on the new notes. At the end of 2024, an advisory group will provide motives for the selected topics. A design competition will then take place. Citizens must then be asked again for their opinion.
The ECB is expected to decide on the final design and timing of the production and issuance of the new banknotes in 2026. Experience shows that it then takes two to three years before the new banknotes come into circulation.
(SDA)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
