| It seems that the United Kingdom is gripped in a | | | | Handheld UV Lamps which are battery operated or |
| Summer of crime this year - 2008. With blistering | | | | Mains operated units available) which will illuminate the |
| sunny days we have seen a rise in house burglaries | | | | ultraviolet marking within a genuine note. |
| from opportunistic thieves as house owners head out | | | | Counterfeit Detection Pens are cheap to buy and |
| to enjoy the warm weather and leave doors and | | | | have the advantage of being very easy to use in a |
| windows open. Add this to the spate of syphoning of | | | | busy environment, simply mark each note with a |
| petrol from cars and outside heating oil tanks crimes | | | | quick stroke of the pen and if the mark left is clear |
| due to the rising cost of fuel and we can see a | | | | or feint then the note is probably okay but if it |
| worrying trend beginning to appear. Now, this | | | | leaves a dark or black mark, the note must be |
| summertime we are on the lookout again as the | | | | treated as suspect. |
| country it appears has been flooded with counterfeit | | | | UV Lamps work differently, by placing a note |
| £20 notes as if our countries economy wasn't | | | | beneath the UV Light, it will illuminate the ultraviolet |
| in enough trouble. | | | | marking hidden within a genuine note but can only be |
| Warnings have been issued about the use of forged | | | | seen under the black light. There is also a mains |
| £20 banknotes across the country in the last | | | | operated UV Lamp available which will not only give a |
| few weeks now reaching epidemic proportions. Police | | | | brighter UV light but also contains a built in white light |
| officers have become aware of counterfeit | | | | so that you can also check the watermarks (which |
| £20 notes circulating in shops and other | | | | are almost impossible for the forger to copy). Most |
| outlets across the UK and are advising retailers to | | | | forgeries are based on the £20 note, this is |
| compare any suspect notes with one that is known | | | | because a £50 note attracts attention of the |
| to be genuine, as there is always something that the | | | | shopkeeper whereas a £20 note is so |
| counterfeiters cannot reproduce properly - usually the | | | | common these days that they barely have a 2nd |
| watermark or on poor quality paper. | | | | glance at them |
| The quality of the paper used in genuine notes is | | | | Often counterfeit notes will be handed over among |
| specially manufactured and almost impossible to get | | | | genuine ones, so shopkeepers are advised to check |
| hold of by counterfeiters. Two things can help | | | | all money thoroughly but particularly £20 notes |
| prevent you being caught out by a forged note; the | | | | - and shoppers and shopkeepers should be aware |
| first is a specially made Counterfeit Detection Pen | | | | that if they receive a counterfeit note, the bank will |
| which reacts to normal paper but not to genuine | | | | not compensate them. |
| currency paper. The other is a UV Lamp (either | | | | |