Watch out for fake 500-krona banknotes

News The number of police reports concerning counterfeit 500-krona banknotes has increased sharply. The counterfeits are often of low quality and there are several simple ways of checking that a banknote is genuine.

Even though it is still unusual for Swedish banknotes to be counterfeited, reports to the police of counterfeit 500-krona banknotes in particular increased markedly in 2020. The fake banknotes received by the police are very poor forgeries. They can be recognised by the paper quality and by the absence of the security features present on genuine banknotes.

The simplest way of checking that the banknote in your hand is genuine is by tilting the banknote. All banknotes have a colour-shifting image up in the right-hand corner. When the banknote is tilted, the image and the denomination figure in the image shift in colour from gold to green. Watch the video Colour-shifting image, 500-krona banknote to see what this looks like.

How to recognise a genuine banknote

However, you should examine several security features in combination when you are checking whether a banknote is genuine. In the links below, you can find information on all security features. The links also include a clip from Swedish television news, where banknote expert Mårten Gomer demonstrates how to tell a genuine banknote from a counterfeit one. There is also a PDF with advice on how to recognise a genuine banknote. If you work in a shop, for example, you may find it useful to print this and keep it by the cash register.

If you detect a counterfeit note, refuse to accept it. If you have already accepted a counterfeit banknote, try to remember how you might have obtained it and report it to the police.

If you work in a shop or a restaurant, for example, and are given a counterfeit banknote by a customer, you should keep the banknote, ask the customer for ID and call the police. But you should also pay attention to the circumstances – in a threatening situation, you should cooperate and not expose yourself to danger.

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Updated 12/03/2021