Poor-quality fake notes seized

PEOPLE have been warned to take a closer look when receiving HK$100 banknotes.

Police seized 923 fake HK$100 bills from January to September – four times more than the number confiscated in the same period last year.

The latest fake banknotes are mainly produced by criminals using inkjet printers. They are of poor quality and should be possible to spot if checked closely.

“They come with a smooth surface, and carry no embossed feel (凹凸手感),” said Chief Inspector Tommy Cheng Ka-wai of the Commercial Crime Bureau (商業罪案調查科總督察鄭家偉).

The banknotes have no security features but have silver stickers disguised as the holographic windowed thread, he said. The colour and features of the real banknotes shift when viewed at different angles. People can also rub the surface to check for an embossed feel.

Cheng said counterfeiters are printing lower-denominated bills because people are often less alert when handling them. Most seized notes were handled by banks. Some were received by small retail stores, taxis, wet markets and convenience stores.

Cheng advised the public not to reuse suspected fake notes but to hand them over to banks or police. Using bogus notes and coins is an offence under the crimes ordinance (刑事罪行條例) punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. He said the public should not fear arrest when handing over counterfeit currency as police would look into the users’ intention.

(This article is published on Junior Standard on 1 November 2016)

Counterfeit currency situation in Hong Kong
https://goo.gl/BpnYR3

Security features of Hong Kong’s currency notes
https://goo.gl/jCkjUF