File photo of Singapore currency notes. (Photo: TODAY)
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) advised people on Tuesday (Jun 11) to be alert for counterfeit Singapore currency notes after three men were arrested and charged for offences related to fake notes.
There have been several reports of counterfeit S$100 notes and S$50 portrait series currency notes being used at convenience stores, restaurants and retail outlets, authorities said.
“These counterfeit notes, which are believed to be photocopied reproductions, lack security features such as (a) watermark (an image that can be seen when held up to the light) and security thread (thread that is interwoven in the paper running vertically down) found on genuine notes,” police said.
Some of the fake notes featured a kinegram, or octagonal reflective foil, that is distinctively different from the ones on genuine notes, police added.
“For instance, the image on the kinegram of a genuine note should shift when the note is tilted but the simulated kinegram on the counterfeit note does not have this characteristic,” the advisory read. “The surface of the counterfeit note also lacks the embossed feel present on genuine notes.”
To date, the counterfeit S$100 notes in reported cases bear the serial number 3AX412083, while the fake S$50 notes bear eight different serial numbers, including 0FF875629, 3DL273922, 4DZ985604, 5HS436415, 5LV797440, 5LP297324, 5CK878136 and 5JH230011.
Three men, aged between 25 and 29, have been arrested and charged with offences related to counterfeit currency notes, authorities said. The offences were allegedly committed between May 25 and Jun 4.
Police urged members of the public to make a police report if they have received any suspected counterfeit notes. Anyone convicted of using counterfeit currency may be fined and jailed for up to 20 years, while those convicted of possessing such notes may be given a jail term of up to 15 years.
Source: CNA/ga(mi)
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