Counterfeit notes can get you jailed. Learn to spot them
How likely is it that you have a fake note resting in your wallet? With counterfeit notes worth Rs. 11.23 crore detected across India in the first eight months post demonetization, the probability of it is unmissable. What should you do if you get fake notes dispensed at an ATM? How to spot such banknotes? Here, we answer all these questions and more.
Why should you know how to identify fake currency notes?
If a bank impounds more than five fake notes from you in one transaction, it is bound to get an FIR registered against you. Also, every counterfeit note identified by the bank will neither be credited to your account nor returned to you. If dispensed a fake note by an ATM, you can raise an inquiry only if you spot it at the kiosk.
What if you get a fake note from an ATM?
Check the banknotes before you leave the booth. If you find that you have been dispensed a counterfeit note, show it to the CCTV, keep the receipt and file a complaint with the ATM guard. You may have to take up the matter with the bank, the RBI, and the police if need be. The chances to get a compensation is however remote.
Here's how a real Rs. 500 note stands out
On the new Rs. 500 note's obverse side: * The windowed security thread and Rs. 500 written on bottom right change from green to blue when the note's tilted. * There's a panel with zeroes growing from small to big on the top left and bottom right. * There is an electrotyped watermark portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on the seemingly blank space towards right.
New Rs. 500 note has Red Fort as predominant theme
The size of the new Rs. 500 note is 66mm x 150mm. It is stone grey in color with Red Fort as its predominant theme. On its reverse side there is: * The currency note's year of printing on the left * Swachh Bharat's logo with the slogan * A language panel with Rs. 500 written in 15 different languages.
Know your new Rs. 2000 banknote better
The new 66mm x 166mm Rs. 2000 note is magenta and has a motif of the Mangalyaan (India's first venture in interplanetary space) on its reverse-side. At the centre on its obverse, it has Mahatma Gandhi's portrait and a design made of 2000 and RBI written in micro-letters. It also has a guarantee clause, governor's signature with promise clause and RBI emblem towards right.
Most distinctive features of the new Rs. 2000 note
The new Rs. 2000 note on its obverse has: Towards left, a see-through register with 2000 written on it that can be seen against light, and a latent image of 2000, which is visible when the banknote is held at 45° at eye level. The color-shift windowed security-thread has RBI, 2000 and Bharat written on it, and changes from green to blue when tilted.
Even visually-impaired people can spot fake notes
Even the visually-impaired can check the authenticity of the new notes. On Rs. 500 note's obverse side, towards right is a raised printing of Mahatma Gandhi's portrait, Rs. 500 in a circle, an Ashoka pillar, and five bleed lines on either side. The magenta note has it all except for Rs. 2000 written in rectangle on left and seven bleed lines on each side.
