Police warn public of counterfeit bills

BEWARE of  fake money  bills.

Police issued the warning after P50,000 in counterfeit P500 and P1,000 bills was recovered on Monday from four persons  in Sogod town, northern Cebu.

Commercial establishments that don’t know how to detect counterfeit bills should be extra cautious when accepting big bills,  said  Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).

Fake bills usually circulate during major activities such as fiestas or even during election season, said police.

The Philippine Central Bank said there are 10 key features of  P500 bills that the public should be familiar with.

Unlike fake bills, a genuine bill has a serial number.

The iridescent vertical gold band on genuine notes is darkened on the fake banknote.

The face of former president Benigno Aquino also looks very dirty and with crude details.

Genuine notes have a rough texture because of its raised prints.

In several portions of the banknote, misaligned patterns normally appear, while the microprints are unreadable but are roughly printed.

Concealed numbers do not show when banknotes are tilted at  an angle.

The  watermark on banknotes is no longer a reliable indicator of genuine bills after counterfeiter managed to copy this.

Similar feature are also found in P1,000 bills./CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON