Authorities have warned of fake notes being printed in townships and then used to pay for a range of goods and services.
|||Cape Town - The Daily Voice is lifting the lid on a fake money scam that is operating in Cape Town townships.
On Wednesday the Daily Voice uncovered up to R30 000 in counterfeit notes that one well-known Cape factory has recovered. Most of the fake cash is circulating in townships such as Gugulethu, Philippi and Khayelitsha.
Experts say some of the notes are extremely high quality and are almost impossible to tell apart from real cash.
The fake notes are being printed in the townships and then used to pay for a range of goods and services.
But the scam is costing local companies, small businesses and taxpayers a fortune.
The authorities are urging businesses to be extra vigilant.
A top local crime fighter and health, risk and security manager said the forgers were becoming more and more sophisticated.
“These guys are using paper and even have stamps on the money,” he says. “No government documentation should have photo luminance, which is a type of ink. “A real note will never smudge when it is wet. “The silver line on the note is full and not split. “The letters RSAB is seen on the solid silver line.”
The 41-year-old man - who cannot be named for safety reasons - showed the Daily Voice stacks of false notes, ranging from R20s to R50s and R100s.
To assist cops, the security risk manager meticulously marks each note with a code, area and date.
This is how he can tell where each note came from, on what day and even what company they received it from. He says these fake notes are being collected every day by truck drivers delivering goods to the townships. And he says the problem is getting worse as the recession bites.
“The scary thing is all of this money has come out of only the townships like Philippi and Khayelitsha,” he added. “I record the route number, which tells me where it comes from and I mark the date if the police needs information.”
Drivers who collect the money at businesses are trained to use a fluorescent light to check if the money is fake. But it is impossible to stop all of the fake notes from getting into the system. The cops admit the fake money scam is getting worse.
They can only urge people to “educate themselves” so they don’t get ripped off.
“The circulation of counterfeit money is a cause of concern in the Western Cape and we would like to warn the public,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel André Traut told the Daily Voice.
“When confronted with a counterfeit note, it is advised that SAPS is immediately notified, if circumstances will allow for this, and to prevent the note from being circulated further, so that the matter can be investigated.”
How to check your bank notes:
* No government documentation should have photo luminance, which is a type of ink.
* A real note will never smudge when it is wet.
* The silver line on the note is full and not split.
* The letters RSAB is seen on the solid silver line.
This article was published in the Daily Voice