BSP warns Ilonggos vs. counterfeit bills
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas warns Ilonggos on the possible proliferation of counterfeit paper bills this 2010 Dinagyang Festival and feast of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria in Jaro District.
BSP deputy director for Iloilo Job Nepumoceno said people should exercise precautionary measures in receiving paper bills when dealing with different transactions. The advocacy in detecting fake paper bills is on their priority list.
Transactions involving money are expected to rise as the city celebrates the Dinagyang festival and the Jaro fiesta. In previous years counterfeit bills were reported during the feast of Our Lady of Candles.
Nepumoceno said there are three techniques to observe in detecting fake bills. The look, feel and tilt technique could help in identifying fake peso paper bills especially those in P1,000 and P500 denominations.
By looking at the paper bills, one can distinguish the genuine bills from the fake ones. The genuine paper bills are printed properly and the serial numbers are aligned properly. It has “watermarks”, said Nepumoceno.
The thread-like is another security features in the paper bills. It could be easily seen through ultra-violet light especially in the P500 bills. The pictures in genuine paper bills are “life-like” when compared to fake ones, said Nepumoceno.
In the touch technique, genuine bills are rough or course because of its embossed features. Fake paper bills are smooth like bond papers, he said.
In the tilt technique, one can see outrightly the amount in the lower left level of the bills. It is one security feature not found in the counterfeit bills, said Nepumoceno.
He added fake paper bills are moistened to make it appear that the money have been circulating for a long time. Others put scotch tape to deceive the receivers. People then would not doubt its genuineness.
The people in Iloilo have been vigilant in the past as a result of BSP’s continuing information campaign. The percentage on the number of fake bills sent to BSP central office dropped to 65-70 percent, said Nepumoceno.
The BSP has no statistics on how much fake paper bills were already sent to BSP central office. However, Nepumoceno said most of the counterfeit bills are in the denominations of P1,000 and P500.
Holders of fake bills are advised to turn-over the bills to the BSP. The BSP sends the fake bills to the BSP’s currency analysis department for further analysis, he said.
As a matter of policy, it is the currency analysis department which can declare whether the bill is genuine or counterfeit though BSP branches could also determine it, said Nepumoceno.
People who turned over fake bills to BSP are given receipts as proof. He, however make clear BSP does not replace them of their money. It is fake money and therefore of no value, said Nepumoceno.
