Genuine or counterfeit?

All banknotes have security features that make genuine notes easily distinguishable from counterfeits. You don’t need sophisticated equipment. Just look, tilt and feel a note and you will recognise the genuine article. Always be sure to check more than one security feature. Still not convinced? Then compare the suspicious note to a genuine one.

To find yourself holding a counterfeit banknote is always unpleasant: for one thing, you will not be compensated. For another, if you spend a counterfeit note, you will be committing a criminal offence.

It is always unpleasant to find yourself in possession of a counterfeit banknote, not only for private people but also if you’re in business. For one thing, you will not be compensated. For another, if you spend a counterfeit note, you will be committing a criminal offence. However, you may be insured against counterfeit damage.

Euro banknotes carry security features by which they can be easily distinguished from counterfeits. You can check a note by simply looking, tilting and feeling. Retailers and others who handle cash a lot, may use a authentication device for additional support. However, such devices can never entirely replace the user’s own considered opinion based on a banknote’s security features.

The number of counterfeit euro banknotes in the Netherlands is declining. A total of 29,700 counterfeits were detected and registered in 2011, 15,300 of which in the second half of the year. In 2010 the total number of counterfeits amounted to 39,600. In the past year a total of 606,000 counterfeits were recovered, according to the European Central Bank. This is a decrease of 19% on the quantity detected in the previous year.