Beware of fake money

COUNTERFEIT money is being circulated in Namibia, with a number of fake Namibian hundred-dollar bills reported to the Police.

A Swakopmund businessman last week alerted the coastal Police after discovering a fake note in his cash drawer. According to a NamPol detective, fake notes have been found circulating at the coast and in the northern regions.He urged people to take a good look at the notes they receive to avoid being caught with bogus money.He said people who unwittingly offered these notes as payment would face legal consequences.The counterfeit bills are easy to identify, said the officer.The numbers on the front of the false note are black and all the same size, where the numbers on a real bill are printed in red and increase in size.The fake note does not have the silver emblem on the front and the signature of the central bank governor is printed in black instead of red.The watermark of a false bill is to the right of Hendrik Witbooi’s image and is a solid line, whereas the real thing has the watermark to the left of the image and it is an interrupted line.On the back of the false note, the words ‘Bank of Namibia’ are brown whereas they are red on the real note.The symbol of two connecting diamonds is horizontal on the fake and vertical on the authentic bill.Any false notes must be taken to the nearest Police station without delay, said the officer.According to a NamPol detective, fake notes have been found circulating at the coast and in the northern regions.He urged people to take a good look at the notes they receive to avoid being caught with bogus money.He said people who unwittingly offered these notes as payment would face legal consequences.The counterfeit bills are easy to identify, said the officer.The numbers on the front of the false note are black and all the same size, where the numbers on a real bill are printed in red and increase in size.The fake note does not have the silver emblem on the front and the signature of the central bank governor is printed in black instead of red.The watermark of a false bill is to the right of Hendrik Witbooi’s image and is a solid line, whereas the real thing has the watermark to the left of the image and it is an interrupted line.On the back of the false note, the words ‘Bank of Namibia’ are brown whereas they are red on the real note.The symbol of two connecting diamonds is horizontal on the fake and vertical on the authentic bill.Any false notes must be taken to the nearest Police station without delay, said the officer.