Crime Prevention Products Says UV is Effective at Detecting Forgeries

With counterfeit money continuing to make the rounds in the UK, particularly £20 notes, leading security providers such as Crime Prevention Products strongly advise people to take protection measures against counterfeit cash and other forms of money.

An Ultraviolet Lamp is effectively and easily able to check for forged documents, banknotes and credit cards. This lighting picks up on whether money is valid by highlighting the Ultraviolet Marking that is built into the note. Using the White Light Torch which is included will further verify the authenticity of their water mark and continuous metallic/plastic strip.

To explain further, a UV torch will not fluoresce on paper if it shines on a genuine watermark, only a white light will show it. In comparison, many counterfeit Notes are printed onto bleached into the paper, so they can be recognised as fake because the UV light will show fluorescence.

In addition, under a white light, a genuine banknote will reveal a continuous metal/plastic strip sandwiched along its length, whereas with a forgery the line will appear slightly broken up as it will have been painted on the outside of the note.
For these two detection methods, experts recommend dual lamps which have both white and UV lighting as the best means to check for the difference between real and counterfeit money.

Another way to distinguish the genuine article in bank notes is the feel of the paper. Many forgers soak their fake notes in UV protection fluids such as sun tan lotion in the hopes of blocking out the UV light so that it won't fluoresce. These fluids however are not 100% UV proof so they will still light up, plus the paper treated with such substances will feel slightly greasy and appear very fragile. The watermark will also be blocked somewhat by substances like sun tan lotion.

Security professionals further advise that people can detect other fake forms of currency or official documents by looking out for genuine fluorescent markings – credit/debit cards, documents such as the newer driving licences, I.D. Cards and Passports as well as all current Euro notes have fluorescent markings on the back of them.

CEO of security company Crime Prevention Products, Terry Rattee, commented: "Fake bank notes and official documents that have been counterfeited are all too common these days. Especially if you accept cash for goods or services, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by easily checking whether money is genuine using an Ultraviolet Lamp. Since they're very inexpensive and also highly portable, they really are a simple and convenient way of ensuring criminals don't pass their forgeries into your hands."