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Just four days after the newly redesigned naira notes were rolled out, they are already being counterfeited.
Are there really fake new notes circulating the country?
This is coming after a man raised alarm in a video that went viral on social media.
In the video, the man claimed that someone paid his wife, a Point of Sale (POS) operator, with a counterfeit N1000 new note. He also displayed both fake and original N1000 notes for people to spot the differences.
He said: “Ladies and gentlemen. Fake money is in town now. People should be very careful.
“This is the original one, while this is the fake one.
“My wife is doing PoS business, someone gave her this money, but we do not know who it was. We later discovered that the money is fake.”
How to spot original and fake note:
The original naira notes are protected by some distinguishing features recognized by touch and visibility:
°Raised print
°Security thread
°Watermark
*Lettering, and °Denominational numerals embossed on the obverse and reverse of the notes.
The raised prints provide the tactility, while the security thread, which ordinarily, looks broken but is not when held up against light, has “CBN” in small lettering printed on both sides of the notes.
The CBN further said on its website that it is also against the law for any person or establishment outside the CBN, to print or be in possession of counterfeit notes.
“If you are caught and convicted of a counterfeiting crime, you may face up to five (5) years imprisonment with no option of fine (Section 20),” CBN said.
However, “the Naira notes are also protected against photocopying. There are also features, which are visible under ultraviolet light; for example, the serial number on each banknote is black, but turns green under ultraviolet light.”
These features highlighted by CBN are to help the general public identify the original naira notes from the fake ones.
According to the CBN, it is very unlikely for fraudsters who make counterfeit notes to get full knowledge of all the security features, as CBN constantly upgrades banknotes with ‘state-of-the-art security features’ to stay ahead of the fake banknotes fabricators.
The new naira notes of the three highest denominations of the Nigerian currency: N200, N500 and N1,000 were unveiled last month by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was done at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting.