younger workers were not raised handling physical money<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe fakes \u201cactually look very real\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t have a real one to make a comparison, you could easily miss it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
One of the main giveaways is the feel of the notes. Unlike genuine New Zealand currency printed on polymer, counterfeits are usually printed on paper. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt just felt off straight away,\u201d Belinda said. <\/p>\n
\u201cMoney has a specific feel to it \u2013 once you know it, you can tell something\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fake $50 note was slightly smaller, closer in size to a $20, making the text appear more cramped near the edges. However, the difference was subtle enough to go unnoticed in a busy environment. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt a glance you just see the colour and think, that\u2019s a $50. If you\u2019re not looking carefully, it\u2019s easy to accept it.\u201d <\/p>\n
The high-quality printing added to the deception, with clear serial numbers and detailed graphics that could pass a quick visual check, Belinda said. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverything else looks legitimate \u2013 the printing, the layout \u2013 so your eye doesn\u2019t immediately pick it up as fake. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd signs of wear could mislead staff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Older notes often appear dull or worn, so it\u2019s easy to assume they\u2019ve simply been in circulation. <\/p>\n
![\"]()
It’s much easier to spot a fake $50 when you can compare it directly with a real one. <\/p>\n
The way the notes were presented also played a role. Belinda said the man at her family\u2019s store handed over the cash casually, without drawing attention. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very quick, very casual \u2013 just kind of slid across the counter. You\u2019re not necessarily stopping to inspect it closely. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the scary part: the notes are good enough that if you\u2019re distracted or in a rush, you could absolutely accept one without realising.\u201d <\/p>\n
NorthChamber chairman Tim Robinson said the organisation hadn\u2019t yet been informed about the latest incidents of counterfeit cash being circulated but recognised it remained an ongoing risk.<\/p>\n
Last October, the organisation held a workshop where the NZ Police National Retail Investigation Unit manager spoke with local retailers about counterfeit fraud prevention, theft patterns and warning signs.<\/p>\n
In New Zealand, counterfeiting and knowingly passing fake money are serious offences under the Crimes Act 1961. Using or attempting to pass counterfeit notes can lead to up to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment, while possessing fake currency with intent to use it is punishable by up to seven years. Producing counterfeit money or possessing equipment to make it also carries a maximum of 10 years.<\/p>\n
Police had not yet responded to a request for comment but have previously said anyone who thinks they might have accepted a counterfeit note should limit handling of it and call 105 to report it.<\/p>\n
Sarah Curtis<\/a> is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate. She has nearly 20 years\u2019 experience in journalism, most of which she spent reporting on the courts in Gisborne and the East Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Belinda \u2013 not her real name \u2013 said she was aware of several incidents she believed involved the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13212,74,41242,10166,134328,2199,40442,146357,2959,78,111,139,31704,69,193,13109,51212,4499,213,42909,13797,8222,1455,3608,1869,1354],"class_list":["post-503423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-13212","tag-after","tag-alert","tag-businesses","tag-circulate","tag-city","tag-convincing","tag-counterfeit","tag-high","tag-in","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-notes","tag-nz","tag-other","tag-several","tag-shops","tag-small","tag-sports","tag-string","tag-used","tag-warned","tag-warning","tag-were","tag-whangrei","tag-woman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}