Urgent warning issued over new King Charles bank notes

'Forgeries are often much easier to detect now these banknotes have improved from previous paper ones - however, criminals may still attempt to exploit the changes.'

Concerns about new bank notes featuring King Charles III’s portrait have been raised over fears they have provided a golden opportunity for scammers.

Last year nearly 116,000 counterfeit bank notes were seized, which together had a face value of about £2.5million.

Those figures, from the Bank of England and Raisin UK, have prompted a warning from Raisin UK’s co-founder to remain vigilant.

Bank notes featuring King Charles’s portrait were first issued on June 5 of this year, which means it will take a while for them to widely circulate and eventually replace those with Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait.

And despite new security features on the new plastic notes, it’s feared that scammers will use the new notes as an opportunity to circulate fakes.

 Kevin Mountford from Raisin UK told PlymouthLive: ‘For the foreseeable future, both Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III banknotes will be circulating.

‘Security features are present on all of these notes, allowing you to check notes to prevent forgeries.

‘Familiarise yourselves with the look and feel of the new notes,’ he advised.

‘Forgeries are often much easier to detect now these banknotes have improved from previous paper ones – however, criminals may still attempt to exploit the changes.

‘Most retailers regularly check banknotes, so it’s unlikely you will come across a counterfeit when shopping with trusted retailers.

‘You should be more cautious about accepting cash from markets, online marketplaces like Facebook, and any cash-in-hand jobs.’

These are some methods to check whether your bank notes are genuine:

• Tilt the note from side to side and check the words change between the note’s value. For example, a £5 note will show the text ‘Five’ and ‘Pound’ in the hologram image.
• The metallic image over the see-through window should have specific colours – gold on the £5 and £10, gold and blue on the £20, and gold and green on the £50. The window should also feature a portrait matching the printed monarch.

And it’s also important to note that any counterfeit notes you may come across are worthless, and you can’t be reimbursed for them.

If you suspect you have a counterfeit, you should take the note to your nearest police station so the note can be sent to the National Crime Agency for further examination.

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