Financial educational program. What to do if you have a counterfeit bill?

Do you know what's in your wallet? It would seem that money and money, nothing unusual.

Take a closer look to see if they have all the signs of authenticity required by the Central Bank. Eat? This means that all banknotes are real. But what to do if you come across a suspicious bill?

If you realize that the money is counterfeit, do not try to pay with it!

For selling counterfeit cash when you know it is counterfeit, you can get up to eight years in prison under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Article 186. Production, storage, transportation or sale of counterfeit money or securities. . If you have a suspicious bill, you need to go to the bank or the police.

We hand over counterfeit money to the bank

With a detected counterfeit banknote, you can contact any banking institution “Regulations on the procedure for conducting cash transactions and the rules for storage, transportation and collection of banknotes and coins of the Bank of Russia in credit institutions on the territory of the Russian Federation” (approved by the Bank of Russia on April 24, 2008 No. 318-P) . . A bank employee will check the banknotes and determine which category they fall into: doubtful, insolvent or showing signs of counterfeit.

• Insolvent bills are stamped “exchange refused”, after which they are returned to you. Of course, you cannot pay with them in the future.
• For that are dubious or have signs of counterfeiting, a certificate is drawn up indicating all the details of banknotes and an order for the transfer of valuables. You will be given certificates and banknotes to verify the correctness of the specified data, and then the money will be taken away for verification, which is carried out within 5 working days.

How to recognize a counterfeit bill

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in 2018-2019 the number of counterfeits decreased several times. This is due to the fact that new banknotes are properly protected. However, there are craftsmen who try to fake them. Let's figure out how you can recognize a fake.

So, each banknote has special watermarks

. They can be viewed under clear light. In a similar way, they check the presence of a security thread and the denomination of the banknote, which is made of microholes. These are the main features of money. Anyone can check their availability.

Other security symbols can only be viewed using special equipment. These include denomination stripes, micropatterns, etc. You can also check the authenticity of a banknote by touch. It has subtle relief strokes. They are intended not only for verification, but also for the convenience of visually impaired people in using money.

Handing in counterfeit money to the police

Counterfeit banknotes can be handed over directly to the police. Before doing this, remember how the bill got into your wallet, at what retail outlet you could have received it, and who could have paid you with it. You will have to testify.

A case will be opened regarding the discovery of a fake at the station, special examinations and investigation will be carried out. When questioned, describe in detail the conditions under which you received these banknotes.

Insist that you did not know that the banknotes were counterfeit before this fact was discovered. Checks, interrogations and investigations can drag on for a month or longer.

Perhaps you simply don’t have time to tinker with a suspicious bill and run through authorities. Money can simply be torn, burned or cut into small pieces. But at the same time, there will still be a possibility that you will destroy a tattered or just an old real bill.

What to do if you find a counterfeit bill in your wallet?

You need to go to any nearest bank and submit banknotes that are in doubt for examination by the Bank of Russia.

“The credit institution is obliged to accept such banknotes in order to suppress the circulation of counterfeit banknotes. Acceptance of counterfeit money is documented by a certificate that indicates the details of the person transferring the counterfeit banknotes and the details of each dubious banknote (denomination of the banknote, year of issue, series, number, etc.),” says a lawyer at the Burtseva, Agasieva and Partners Bar Association. Vera Efremova.

The victim, according to her, is given one copy of this certificate, signed and certified by the round seal of the cash office. If the check shows that the money is real, then it will be returned to the owner, if not, then the bank will transmit information about the counterfeit banknotes to the territorial internal affairs bodies.

“The police officers, in turn, initiate a criminal case and call the victim to give written explanations about how he came into possession of a counterfeit bill,” says Vera Efremova.

Source: Central Bank

By the way, if a person is sure even without an examination that the money is counterfeit, then he can immediately go to the police, bypassing the bank.

“You can go to the police yourself and write a statement to initiate a criminal case for fraud (criminals took possession of the phone by deception, paying for the purchase with counterfeit Central Bank tickets), indicating with whom, when and on what phone number you contacted regarding the sale of the phone. You will also need to report that you paid with one of the bills at the hairdresser, not knowing or suspecting that the money was counterfeit,” notes Marat Amanliev, lawyer at the Trunov, Aivar and Partners bar association, and immediately clarifies that the main thing is to state in detail , how you ended up with counterfeit banknotes, and explain to law enforcement officers that you had no intention of selling and storing counterfeit money.

How to protect yourself from receiving counterfeit bills

Cashless payments are considered the safest. Money is debited from or credited to the card account. But this method is not suitable for everyone.

To protect yourself from receiving counterfeits, you need to carefully study the security symbols of each banknote.

It is better to exchange foreign currency at specialized exchange offices or banking institutions

. Only they can guarantee that you will receive genuine cash. Yes, the rate at illegal exchangers is higher. But no one guarantees that you will receive original banknotes.

It is better to check cash immediately after receiving it. Protective symbols help with this. You can detect a fake without special equipment by touch.

You should not change banknotes for small or large ones at retail outlets, markets or shops. It is much easier to get a fake in them. You must always be extremely careful when counting large amounts of cash. It is much easier to hide a fake in packs.

5000 banknote, 2006 modification

Now let’s look at the main features of the authenticity of Bank of Russia banknotes with a face value of 5,000 rubles. They are the ones that are counterfeited more often than others, so you need to be on alert. The first banknote was issued in 2006, modification took place in 2010.

To the light

1. A watermark on a banknote indicating its denomination.
2. Microtext on the banknote displaying its denomination.
3. Watermark with the image of the head of the monument to Muravyov-Amursky.
4. A diving holographic thread that, when viewed through light, looks like a single stripe.

At an angle

1. A sign that shimmers when viewed from different angles.
2. When tilted, multi-colored “stains” appear.
3. When tilted, the letters “PP” appear.

To the touch. In all these places, the relief has been raised. If you run your fingers, you will feel the uneven surface.

Fraud by sellers with banknotes

A fraudulent scheme is now quite common, in which sellers claim that the buyer gave them a counterfeit bill. The situation looks something like this: a buyer pays in a store with a large bill, the seller, under the pretext of checking, takes it away from the cash register, and then returns with a counterfeit, and begins to threaten the buyer with calling the police if he does not leave the store. The goal of the fraudulent seller is to pocket the money and drive the seller out. For greater persuasiveness, the seller can even demonstratively tear the bill (such cases also occur).

If you find yourself in such a situation, you need to contact the police. If there were witnesses who saw that the seller returned another bill, it is necessary to indicate their presence. When giving evidence, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the bill was taken away and checked in the absence of the buyer; perhaps this was recorded by CCTV cameras and witnesses. The seller's actions can be qualified as under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Is it possible to get my money back

If an audit is carried out and the funds turn out to be counterfeit, you can recover damages from the person from whom you received the funds. But compensation for such damage is only possible in court and, accordingly, you will have to file a claim.

If the examination reveals that the submitted banknote is genuine and does not have signs of falsification, then the owner (applicant) must provide the employee with a certificate that was drawn up when the banknote was withdrawn and, accordingly, your money will be returned to you.

Signs of authenticity of 1000 rubles modification 2004

There are very few banknotes that were issued in 1997 left in circulation. It is clear that over more than 20 years they have simply worn out and are practically out of circulation. Therefore, we will not consider them. Let's start right away with the 2004 version, although it, too, has become less and less common.

Definition in the light

1. This is where the watermarks are located on the banknote. When held up to the light, you will see the number “1000”.
2. Here you will see microtext on the bill - the number 1000, consisting of small dots.
3. This is also the location of the watermark. In the light you will see a portrait of Yaroslav the Wise.
4. On the back of the Bank of Russia banknote there is a security thread. Just visually it is a dotted line, but in the light it is continuous.

At an angle

1. If you tilt the bill, then at an angle this place will not be monochromatic, but rainbow-colored.
2. Optical element. When viewed from different angles it plays with colors.
3. Hidden image. If you look at it from a certain angle, you will see the letters “PP”.

To the touch

1. This inscription on the banknote is in relief.
2. This is also a special relief sign that stands out when touched.
3. If you feel this element, it will be in relief.

If you do not see any sign of authenticity, this does not necessarily mean it is a fake. Perhaps you are holding a banknote of the 2010 modification with other security elements.

Algorithm for a cashier's actions when a counterfeit is detected

If you discover a counterfeit late, the main thing is not to panic and not try to get rid of the bill in a nearby store. Deliberate use of counterfeits can result in a prison sentence.

When paying for an item with a stack of banknotes, you need to check each one for authenticity.

Some statistics

At the end of 2021, an increase in the number of counterfeit banknotes was revealed, so it is important for every Russian to know the signs of the authenticity of banknotes. Last year, counterfeits of 2000 began to be found en masse: criminals are not sleeping, they are learning how to make them. In general, the statistics for 2019 look like this:

1. 1000. 8602 counterfeit copies found;
2. 2000. 2788 pieces discovered;
3. 5000. 28668 items discovered.

As you can see, criminals are more attracted to the denomination of 5000. Which is logical, since this is the largest banknote in Russia, from the sale of counterfeits of which the maximum profit can be made. All citizens of the Russian Federation must know the signs of the authenticity of this banknote.

Is there a lot of counterfeit money in Krasnoyarsk?

Fortunately, there are fewer of them every year. For example, according to the Central Bank, in 2021, 120 counterfeit banknotes were found in banks in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. This is 35% less than in 2021 and 6.5 times less than what was found in 2008. Then bank employees identified 782 counterfeit banknotes.

At the end of 2021, the most popular banknote among counterfeiters was the 1,000 ruble banknote. In second place were 5,000-dollar banknotes.

“Forewarned is forearmed”: use this rule when dealing with cash. Feel free to check your change and do not take “suspicious” money. And if you have already come across fakes, tell us about it in the comments!

Online newspaper Newslab.ru