5 Effective ways to spot fake Naira notes in circulation

*The use of counterfeit banknotes is punishable under the Nigerian Constitution, whether a consumer is aware or not because ‘ignorance is not an excuse in the court of law’

Web Editor | ConsumerConnect

As the national currency, using fake Naira notes for buying and selling in Nigeria is no longer news in regard to some recent reports about counterfeit banknotes in circulation in the country.

Every day, buyers and sellers in the marketplace do complain about discovering the banknotes with which they were paid are fake or counter.

These differences are not hidden; they are there only if you look well enough, even for an untrained eye.

You should also avail yourself of the fact that the use of counterfeits is punishable under the Nigerian constitution whether you’re aware or not because “ignorance is not an excuse in the court of law.”

Here are the five most effective ways to identify fake Naira notes, courtesy of The Nation:

Go for the thread: Each Naira note has this slim like strip that runs from the top to the base. What you would only see is a lookalike but not the real thing.

Make use of water or liquid like petrol: To know a counter, which is a decorated currency, immerse in water and wash gently against your palm, you will see the colours and watermark wash off.

However, the real note will not look like this when immersed in water or any liquid.

Use mercury bulbs: Through this way, Naira notes can easily be recognised, some features of the Naira notes cannot be seen with naked eyes.

These features are only in original Naira notes, and one cannot see them except with the help of mercury bulbs.

Get the Naira note in question under a working mercury bulb. On a genuine N1,000 note, you will see “N1000” written across it in a neon yellow hue.

The bulbs would catch any features the human eyes may not see.

Check the gold foil: The N1,000 note has a gold foil on the right side beside the signature of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.

CBN Headquarters, Abuja, FCT

Consumers should bear in mind that if they peel the foil of a fake note, it will peel.

Therefore, if the above number two option is too hard for you and you are holding a N1,000 note, you should try to peel off the foil. If it does peel, that means it is fake.

Paper, polymer banknote and colour quality: While counterfeits are made of ordinary papers, real money is made of an exceptional sort of paper, or polymer banknotes for lower denominations. Feeling the paper-quality of counterfeits, you will find out that it is just an ordinary paper.

The colours of counterfeits also betray it. The drawings on counterfeits are more blurry, blotchy and sometimes darker than real paper money.

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