Forged Notes
Recently a few weeks ago, an incident took place with Satish while he visited the bank to deposit cash. While making the deposit, the teller of the bank found out that one of his ₹500 notes was fake, and he immediately stamped the 500 rupees note as fake and impounded it. Watching this in front of his eyes, Satish was devasted, and he promised not to fall for these fake notes again. He immediately went home and learned useful insights.
What are ‘Forged notes’?
A forged note, also known as a fake note or a counterfeit note is a currency note which has not been legally issued. A forged note does not have one or more features of an authentic note. It can be identified by seeing, touching, and tilting the note.
Each denomination of currency issued by the RBI has certain identifiable features, which are published by RBI. These include features such as a watermark, security thread, fluorescence, etc. A forged note will not have one or more of these features.
Measures were taken by RBI to address the problem of forged notes
RBI takes regular measures to counter the problem of forged notes. These include:
- Periodically improving the security features of notes so that forging becomes difficult.
- Ensuring that banks have a robust system in place to identify and detect forged notes.
- Raising public awareness on the issue.
- Improving coordination between banks and legal authorities.
What should a person do if he/she has unknowingly come in possession of a forged note?
Everyone should know the features of a legal note and assess the authenticity of notes in his/her possession. In case a forged note is submitted to the bank, the bank will impound the same and issue an acknowledgment to the customer. The bank thereafter sends the counterfeit note to local police authorities for further action.
In case the person knows of anyone who is involved in such activities, the person should immediately contact any of the law enforcement agencies as per Section 39 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
