‘Funny money’ warning from police

WRONG NOTE: Seen any funny money lately? Gisborne Police have noticed some counterfeit $50, $20, and $10 notes are being circulated. This image is of a legitimate $50 note. Picture supplied

Police are warning the community to keep an eye out for counterfeit banknotes being circulated in the district.

On the Eastern District Police Facebook page, police say the “funny money” they have noticed in Gisborne has been in $50, $20, and $10 denominations.

“To make sure it's legit all you need to do is ‘Look, Feel, and Tilt',” police say.

“If you come across any counterfeit money please report it via the police 105 non-emergency number.”

“Look” for the holograph window on a note. The edges of it should look smooth. You should see the bird's silhouette, a map of New Zealand, and a 3D feature shows the value of the note.

“Feel” the note. There should be raised ink on the denomination of the note and the letters at the top.

“Tilt” it. A bright shiny bar should roll across the bird's silhouette on the front of the note and the holographic window's colours should shift and change, revealing fine details.

Polymer banknotes and their inks are water-resistant.

There should not be any blotches or running of the inks.

Each note has an individual serial number printed horizontally and vertically, and these numbers match.

If the serial numbers are missing, or if you have several notes with the same serial number on all of them, some or all of those notes could be counterfeit.