Dutch bank warns of dramatic rise in counterfeit euro seizures

De Nederlandsche Bank saw a significant increase in the number of counterfeit euro banknotes seized in 2015. Last year 66,500 counterfeit euro notes were seized in the Netherlands, an increase of 37 percent compared to the 48,700 seized in 2014, DNB announced on Friday. Worldwide the number of counterfeit euro banknotes increased by 7 percent to 899 thousand in the whole of 2015. Though compared to the 18 billion genuine euro banknotes in circulation world wide, the number of detected counterfeits remains relatively low. The most commonly counterfeited bills are 20 euros and 50 euros. While the risk of receiving a counterfeit euro note remains low, the bank feel it is important for the public to remain alert and be aware of the security features on the notes. Information about the security features can be found here. The bank also released an app "Echt of Vals" which recognizes the the notes' security features if scanned with a smartphone camera. The app is available for both Android and iPhone.