The number of counterfeit euro banknotes in the Netherlands is declining. A total of 17,900 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the Netherlands in 2025, a 26% drop compared with 24,100 counterfeit notes in 2024. The €50 note was counterfeited most often.
© DNB
The number of counterfeit euro notes found in the Netherlands has been decreasing over the past 10 years. Possible explanations include the declining use of cash, observant retailers checking notes for authenticity, and increased attention from the police and law enforcement authorities in fighting this form of crime. Fewer counterfeit €100 and €200 euro notes were withdrawn from circulation in 2025. The peaks seen in 2022 and 2024 were mainly due to a limited number of scam cases involving fake notes of very low quality.
© DNB
In 2025, 444,000 counterfeit euro notes were found worldwide. That was 20% less than in 2024. Compared to the 31 billion genuine euro banknotes in circulation worldwide, the chance of finding a counterfeit banknote is small. Still, it is wise to check euro banknotes. Careful checks ensure that suspect banknotes are promptly detected. This can prevent criminals from paying with counterfeit banknotes and causing recipients to suffer a financial loss.
Euro banknotes can be checked manually for authenticity features such as the watermark and the hologram. Furthermore, retailers can use detection devices. For more information on how to check whether banknotes are genuine, go to our web page.
For more information, please contact Farley Asruf on +31 (0)6 55 441 35 053.
09 March 2026
Background
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