The Royal Canadian Mounted Police stated that 44,975 counterfeit Canadian banknotes were found by authorities in 2012. The number of fake banknotes discovered in circulation has been declining for 8 years in a row and is down 92 percent from 2004.
Aside from the number of fake banknotes discovered, the RCMP also seized 14,882 counterfeit banknotes in 2012.
68 percent of the fake notes passed in 2012 were of the $20 bill.
Out of the nearly 2 billion banknotes in circulation, financial regulators estimate that up to 28 counterfeit notes out of every 1 million legitimate notes. The value of these counterfeits are $1.6 Million.
Source: Daniel Schwartz, “Bank of Canada unveils new $5 and $10 polymer banknotes,” CBC News, April 30, 2013.
Bankers in India estimate that up to $2.2 Trillion (120,000 Billion Indian Rupees) of currency in the country could be counterfeit.
In 2009 to 2010, the Reserve Bank of India detected over 400,000 counterfeit notes that were passed in circulation.
Authorities state that many ATM machines at bank locations dispense fake 500 and 1,000 notes.
Source: ”India’s reserve bank works to combat counterfeiters,” Radio Australia, April 23, 2013.
Some women sex workers in Calcutta, India are reported to earn as little as $1.85 a day (100 Indian Rupees). There are around 10,000 prostitutes in the region.
In 2013, customers were begining to pay for services using fake rupee notes. Many male customers were reportedly paying with counterfeit 500 ruppe and 1,000 ruppe notes. A non-governmental organization began training the sex workers on how to spot fake currency, as well as installing ultraviolet light machines that could determine whether a note was fake. After the campaign, the number of reported fake notes used in the area declined by 20 percent.
Source: ”Teaching Indian sex workers to spot fake currency,” BBC News, April 2, 2013.
The MTA in New York City stated that 917 counterfeit bills were used to purchase MetroCards in 2012. The face value of the counterfeit dollars was $19,060.
In 2011, a total of 975 counterfeit bills valued at $30,232 were used in NYC to purchase MetroCards.
Source: Michael Gartland, “MTA clerks forced to pay for accepting counterfeit bills,” New York Post, March 24, 2013.
Financial authorities in the European Union detected 184,000 counterfeit euro coins in 2012. The number of fake coins removed from circulation was 17 percent higher than the 157,000 fakes removed in 2011.
The most counterfeited coin was the 2-euro domination, which represented 2 out of ever 3 counterfeit euro coin.
Authorities detected 531,000 counterfeit euro banknotes across the EU in 2012, which was 12.4 percent less than the 606,000 counterfeit notes that were removed from circulation in 2011.
Source: Karafillis Giannoulis, “More counterfeit euro coins removed from circulation,” New Europe, February 11, 2013.
The European Commission reported that counterfeit euros in across the European Union causes a $676 Million (€500 Million) financial impact.
Europol stated that most of the counterfeit notes that are detected and passed across the EU originated from Bulgaria, Colombia and Italy.
Source: Vincent Ryan, “Ireland’s counterfeit gang laws ‘insufficient’,” Irish Examiner, February 6, 2013.
The United States Secret Service stated that it seized nearly $81 Million in Counterfeit US Dollars in Fiscal Year 2011-2012.
2,424 people were arrested during the fiscal year for counterfeiting US banknotes.
Source: Kim Severson, “On the Trail of a Counterfeiting Called “The Printer”,” New York Times, January 4, 2013.
The New Zealand Reserve Bank reported that the amount of counterfeit money in circulation within the country was about 1 bank note in a million. The amount of counterfeit money detected in circulation was down from the three in a million rate reported in 2011.
In total, about 136 million counterfeit banknotes, ranging from 5 to 100 bills, are in circulation in New Zealand.
The rate of fake notes is low in comparison with international counterfeiting rates, which typically range between 50 to 100 fake notes per million.
Source: James Weir, “Counterfeit cash a rare find in NZ,” Stuff.co.nz, January 1, 2013.
The Central Bank of Mexico reported that the number of fake bank notes removed from circulation in 2011 was around 9 percent higher than the number of counterfeit money detected in 2010. The biggest rate of increase in counterfeit currency in Mexico in 2011 was in the 50 peso note.
In the United Kingdom, the Bank of England reported that the number of counterfeit currency removed from circulation in 2011 was 24 percent higher than in 2010. The most counterfeited currency was the £20 note.
Source: Joe Sharkey, “Keeping an Eye Out for Counterfeit Money,” New York Times, November 26. 2012.
