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Sean Camara
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Man urgently warns Australians to watch out for fake $50 bills that can pass the “scrunch test”, advises giving banknotes a close inspection
An Australian man has released an urgent warning about fake $50 bills that are currently circulating in the country.
TikTok user @kuruptmc has shared a video proving that not all authentic-looking $50 banknotes are legitimate.
Credit: TikTok/@kuruptmc
In his video, the TikTok user shows what appears to be a legitimate $50 bill — complete with a seven-pointed star and a transparent window — before doing the "scrunch test" on it.
For those of you who are not aware of the "scrunch test", it is basically a method where you crumple a banknote to determine if it is legitimate or not.
Notes are made with plastic so they spring back when you scrunch them.
After doing the test, the note springs back to its original state so one could be forgiven for assuming that the banknote in the TikTok user's possession is not counterfeit money.
Australians are advised to give their banknotes a close inspection as the “new” counterfeit money in circulation can pass the “scrunch test”, making it more difficult to identify its illegitimacy. Credit: TikTok/@kuruptmc.
However, upon closer inspection, the bill has some of its yellow coating peeled off — a clear indicator that the banknote is fake.
While it is unclear how the TikTok user came to be in possession of the bill, it should be noted that a similar incident was reported last year after Adelaide residents discovered that counterfeit $50 and $100 banknotes were in circulation in the city.
Additionally, it was said that the counterfeiting rate of banknotes has more than halved since 2016 — the year when the Reserve Bank of Australia began releasing new bills with upgraded security features.
Below is a video showing the security features that the RBA added to the banknotes.
Credit: YouTube/Reserve Bank of Australia
What to do if the bill in your possession is a counterfeit note:
It is an offence to knowingly possess counterfeit banknotes.
If you come in contact with a note you suspect to be counterfeit you should take the following steps:
1. Handle the suspect banknote as little as possible and store it in an envelope.
2. Note any relevant information, such as how it came into your possession.
3. Report the matter immediately to State or Federal police.
Ways to check if a note is real by looking at the clear strip in the note:
Tilt the note to see the bird's wings move and change colour, and the number changes direction
Tilt to see a rolling colour effect on the hologram above the note's value
The Reserve Bank of Australia has an extensive list of security features for each note here: https://www.banknotes.rba.gov.au/counterfeit-detection/list-of-security-features/
Source: The Reserve Bank of Australia - https://www.banknotes.rba.gov.au/
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