Dutch concern at rise of fake euro

The Dutch Central bank has rolled out a nationwide media campaign aimed at educating shoppers and retailers about the euro, following increasing concern about the quantity and high quality of fake euro notes.

According to the latest figures from the Amsterdam based bank, 26,000 cases of fake euro notes were recorded in 2003, an increase of 8% since 2001, the last year the guilder was in use.

Some Dutch retailers claim that some forgeries are so convincing that they are passing the standard UV-light test.

The most popular banknote among counterfeiters is the €50 note.

A spokesperson for the Central bank yesterday downplayed the rise in fake banknotes pointing out that of a total of 9 billion euro notes, only 0.006% were intercepted as forgeries.