Limerick businesses warned of increase in counterfeit cash

Businesses have been urged to be vigilant in the lead up to the Christmas season.

Gardaí have issued a warning to businesses in Limerick following a recent increase in incidents involving counterfeit money.

The tendering of fake cash is reportedly increasing at the moment, and incidents of counterfeit and ‘prop’ money being posted into Ireland are also rising, the Limerick Leader reports.

Speaking to the publication, Garda John Finnerty said “In many cases, business owners are detecting people using counterfeit €50 notes to buy small items”.

He said that people should ‘feel, look, tilt and check’ a note to see if it’s genuine.

“Each note is made out of cotton and should feel crisp and firm. The ink is raised, if you run your finger across the note the ink will feel thicker in parts,” Garda Finnerty said, adding that notes should also be checked for a security tread, which will state the numeral value of the note.

You can also check notes by holding them up to the light – if it’s genuine, watermark and the numeral value will be visible and when you tilt the note you will see a hologram showing its value.

Garda Finnerty advised that any counterfeit notes people encounter should be retained and handed into Gardaí.

Header image via Shutterstock 

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