As a trader, you try your best to keep your customers happy, 25% off, 30% off, even BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) deals yet there are still people out there with the sole intention of trying to rip you off. If you have premises you can tighten security by fitting a modern security system or even hiring security personell.
What happens if you are a sole trader working on a market or on a mobile shop? You cannot afford to have extra staff or it’s just not feasible to have cameras or other security measures around you! At this time of year, retailers welcome the boost that festive shopping brings and not just high street traders but market traders and mobile shop owners too.
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We have all heard of the term counterfeit money so what exactly is it?
This is the production of currency without the proper licences from a Government; it can also be know as funny money or forgery and as long as there has been money there have been people around that have been able to produce near exact copies and pass it off as ‘real money’.
With the run up to Christmas now here, most people will be purchasing goods with legitimate money, however there will be Forgers that will be looking for shops, vans and market stalls that do not have any counterfeit detection or banknote checkers and they will be handing over their counterfeit notes and walking away with goods, while the shopkeepers will be left with nothing.
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Like most businesses there nothing better than the sound of money going into your till, standing all day at your work premises, then at night going to put your hard earned cash into the bank only to be told that some of your money is illegal. Infuriating, don’t you think? Counterfeit money is big business and it is not confined to just UK shores this is a World wide problem.
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The latest counterfeit detection model from Chaperone – The Multi Function Counterfeit Detection UV Lamp – has just been released and there are 2 main features that are instantly noticeable about this unique detection product :
* Its size, it is a lot smaller than previous counterfeit detection models
* Counterfeit Detection models just got a whole lot smarter, new technology helps the detector to switch on and off automatically, thus saving energy AND bulbs!
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As if the retail trade isn’t having a tough enough start to the new year, many retailers are now being urged to be extremely vigilant when it comes to checking for counterfeit money. Organised criminals have upped their game in reproducing fake notes and despite the Bank of England’s efforts to make our notes hard to reproduce, there are an estimated 290,000 counterfeit notes circulating in the UK – a total value of £5.8 million.
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Counterfeit Detection Pens are the latest technology for business owners when it comes to protecting their profits. People are very often surprised to find that they have been carrying forged currency around with them, and are clearly dismayed that it must be confiscated without any compensation. If your business is caught up in a counterfeit deal, you could find that a large percentage of your profits are actually null and void; the problem is that once counterfeit users realise you accept the forged notes they will keep doing business with you as well as drawing in more of the same type of business from their friends in the counterfeit business.
When the bank notices these counterfeit bills, they will be taken from your account and you can actually lose much of the profit you thought you were taking in. Clearly, this is no way to run a business. How do you stop your business from losing out on real profits? All you need to be aware of, is the threat of counterfeit notes. Once you have realised that they do exist where you may not have thought it possible ( tens of thousands of counterfeit £20 notes are currently in circulation), you can start to fight back and keep your profit margins looking healthy and staying that way.
Counterfeit Detection Pens are the simple way to do this and are exactly what they sound like; special pens with ink that allows you to tell the difference between fake bank notes and real ones. The pens (which are easily available by Mail Order from websites like Crime Prevention Products at www.c-p-p.co.uk) are very easy to use, all you need to do is make a small mark on the note and check to see what colour the ink turns. Generally speaking, forged note pens will come out clear or light yellow on real notes and black or brown on the forged notes.
Vigilance of this kind means that sooner or later you will find counterfeit money but there is no need to panic over it; the point of checking your notes is to avoid actually taking this fake money as real currency and depositing it into your account. Forged note pens are a modern necessity for business owners.
A former public schoolboy is currently wanted for a £100,000 forged driving licence racket. The former pupil of Westminster School admitted to a National Newspaper, manufacturing fake driving licences and selling them to pupils including pupils from other top fee-paying schools. Apparently the forgerd licences allowed the teenagers to buy alcohol at pubs and off-licences by hiding their true age. Detectives believe that at least 4,000 forged licences spanning the South of England were produced over the last two years and about 40 have been recovered in London alone.
Police also stated that they were very good copies and that the fakes were only discovered when some of the pubs and off-licences checked them with Ultra Violet Lamps which revealed the absence of watermarks.
This highlights not only that shops and pubs are at risk, but also employers who check things like birth certficates and passports as evidence of identity or that an employee holds a full driving licence. One lamp available, the Multi-Function UV Lamp has a powerful 12 watts of Ultra Violet light which will show up such forgeries very quickly even in a well lit office or till area. The unit switches on automatically whenever anything is placed under the cover and then switches off again 10 seconds after removal of the document making it cost effective (and green) to run.
Banknote forgery is becoming a major concern for many businesses and individuals alike. In recent times police have uncovered many counterfeiting rings working up and down the country. One group were convicted of conspiring to flood the UK with £50m in banknotes, and yet another investigation resulted in the largest ever haul of fake passports ever found in the UK covering 12 different countries including more than 200 fake British Passports, often considered too difficult to make!
An entire family and several family relatives and friends were convicted last year of counterfeiting £500,000 of Giro Cheques and Birth Certificates and police regularly warn shopkeepers to be vigilant following spates of forged notes suddenly appearing in an area. The usual ploy is to purchase low value items with £10 or £20 notes, so that most of the note’s value is converted into cash.
The Crime Reduction Advisor for part of Essex Police Constabulary, Chris West stated that there are some simple but effective measures retailers can take like ‘ investing in a Counterfeit Money Marker Pen. They are relatively cheap and can be easily found on the internet. The pens react to starch in the paper and leave a dark mark if the note is forged. UV Lamps are another good idea as forged money shows up bright white under the lamp.’
There are two types of Counterfeit Currency Detector Lamps, either battery operated or those connected to the mains. The battery types produce 4 watts of UV light from a single tube and run on 4 AA batteries. There is a small torch facility also provided so that you may also check the watermarking using the white light from the torch facility.
The mains operated versions (designed for retail outlets) offer a choice of 4 watt or even 12 watts of UV light. Some also include a white light built in to the base unit for checking watermarks and there is even one lamp, the Chaperone Multi-Function UV Lamp which not only has both black and white lights but also has a magnifying lens to assist checking the watermarks and micro lettering. This clever unit even has an Automatic ON/Off facility to help conserve energy and lamp life.
One final point is to remember that it isn’t only money that is forged, many illegal immigrants also provide forged birth certificates/passports or driving licences etc. and these lamps help identify these too!
