Texture, Holograms, and Size Differ to Spot Immediately
Counterfeit Banknotes Circulating Last Year Increase for the First Time in 6 Years
A netizen warned that their mother received counterfeit bills from a store customer. On the 22nd, an online community 'FM Korea' posted a photo comparing counterfeit bills and real bills under the title 'Counterfeit bills my mom almost received, compared with real bills.'
The author, Mr. A, conveyed his mother's words, saying, "The fake bill's hologram does not reflect light, and its size is larger. Also, the real bill is made of cotton fiber, but the fake one is paper, so the texture is different." He continued, "As soon as my mother received the money, she immediately noticed the different texture and the hologram not shining, so she asked, 'Isn't this a counterfeit bill?' The customer shouted, '(It's a genuine bill) yes,'" he said. When the mother shouted back, "I've been in business for years; do you think I wouldn't recognize this?" the customer finally took the counterfeit bill and ran away.
Mr. A said, "When my mother was working, she was told that reporting it would prevent her from working, so I posted online and plan to report it. Since counterfeiting money is a crime, even if the bill was not accepted, we will report it." Netizens responded to Mr. A's story with comments like, "Wow, it's amazing that someone tried to pay with counterfeit bills and also amazing that it was recognized immediately," "Is this really South Korea in 2024? How can someone use counterfeit bills?" and "I heard that when you actually receive counterfeit bills, the texture and feel are different, so you can recognize them right away."
South Korean criminal law strictly punishes currency counterfeiting. Article 207 of the Criminal Act states that anyone who counterfeits or alters South Korean currency shall be punished by life imprisonment or imprisonment for not less than two years. Article 208 stipulates that anyone who acquires counterfeit or altered currency shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine not exceeding 15 million won.
As netizens continued to suspect manipulation, Mr. A uploaded a screenshot of the report he filed with the police. [Photo by Online Community 'FM Korea']
Among these, last year, the Bank of Korea announced that counterfeit bills found in circulation increased for the first time in six years. The Bank of Korea counted 184 counterfeit bills discovered during currency handling processes or reported by financial institutions or individuals last year. By denomination, 5,000-won bills were the most common at 116 bills, followed by 10,000-won bills at 37, 50,000-won bills at 18, and 1,000-won bills at 13.
The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation advises that when receiving a suspected counterfeit 10,000-won bill, one should check in bright light whether there is a hidden image of King Sejong in the blank space, whether the hologram on the right side of the hidden image alternates between a map of Korea, the number 10000, and the four trigrams pattern, and whether a silver line appears on the right edge of the bill.
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