In view of the upcoming festive season of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany, a period during which commercial transactions are expected to increase, the Police recommends that the public, especially managers and staff of shops selling goods and services, should be aware of the need to check the authenticity of banknotes[/B] during various transactions.
The Police (National Centre for the Analysis of Banknotes, of the Criminal Investigation Service - M.E.I.E.), taking into account that from time to time counterfeit banknotes are detected in circulation and in view of the festive season, informs the public that, where there is doubt about the authenticity of banknotes during various financial transactions, they can visit the website of the European Central Bank (www.ecb.europa.eu), where information on the security features of banknotes is provided.
Counterfeit banknotes are usually of relatively good quality and the public is therefore advised to be particularly careful in their daily transactions.
They are also advised to use the counterfeit detection machines, where available, or to compare a suspect note received with a genuine note in their possession.
It should be noted that all genuine euro banknotes have strong security features which are easily distinguishable by the citizen. In this particular case, the public is advised to pay particular attention to the following:
Watermark: It is a common and main feature for all euro banknote denominations, which is easily distinguishable against any source of light, natural or otherwise, a process in which the architectural pattern in the shape of a "gate", consisting of dark and light, black and white shapes, is visible. At the base of this representation, there is a number, which indicates the value of the banknote, which, using again a light source (natural or otherwise), appears perfectly bright, without any shadows. This number, if the banknote is placed on any dark surface, changes to dark, due to the thinness of the paper at that point.
Hologram: An equally reliable feature, consisting of a silver-coloured, visually variable part of a plate, located in the corner of the front of the banknote, visible to the naked eye. The image on the hologram is a combination of representations consisting of a 'gate', as in the case of the watermark, and the value of the banknote (50), surrounded by a circular formation. With the movement of the banknote, these representations change to the colours of the rainbow, from the centre of the plate outwards.
Value number in ink visually variable formation:[/B] An equally important security feature, contained on high value banknotes (50 and above). This is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the banknotes and is purple in colour, easily changing with movement to olive-brown.
These features are intended to protect the public from counterfeiting, since the counterfeit notes circulating on the market have imitations of such features. Police advise the public to check more than one security feature and to check the website of the European Central Bank or the Central Bank of Cyprus.
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