As we head to the home stretch of December and start thinking up gift lists and noche buena ideas, it’s easy to lose track of the money in our hands. While we may not control how much money we have left, we still have to make sure that you’re not holding fake paper bills.
In my live report yesterday for State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas gave reminders on how to spot fake paper bills. As you can see from the image below, the copycats know how to get it done.
Real money, left. Counterfeit, right.
Because of the emergence of color copiers, counterfeiters have an easier time duplicating paper bills. The BSP added security features such as thin security lines. But it didn’t work as well.
Coping with color copiers. Genuine, left. Fake, right.
The new design of our paper bills provided an opportunity for Bangko Sentral to add state-of-the-art features to enhance the security of our money. One of these improvements is the addition of a numerical value to the watermark of the hero when you set the money against the light.
Improved watermark for paper bills
The windowed security thread is also larger and more prominent. If you look closely too, the word BSP is readable within these security lines. You can also spot genuine paper bills by feeling its surface; it should be rough to the touch.
New windowed security thread
Meanwhile, as I was doing my Bangko Sentral story, I spotted our resident fairy godmother Vicky Morales taping an interview with taxi driver Alejandro Ignacio. His story became viral (details below) via Facebook and many people tagged this post to me. Just know that Mr. Ignacio is in good hands because Ms. Vicky will feature him on Wish Ko Lang!
Vicky Morales with taxi driver Alejandro Ignacio
Mr. Ignacio is already 76 years old and yet he is still working as a cab driver to support his grandchildren. Marvin Jason Royeca, one of his passengers, created the moving Facebook post that caught the attention of many people. This is the power of social media, especially Facebook and Twitter. Use it well.
Alejandro Ignacio. Photo via Marvin Jason Royeca.
Restless Reporter 