Apr 17, 2013
By Pang Lei

In recent days, domestic media have been reporting that a new batch of high-quality fake 100 yuan notes have entered circulation in some areas of the country.

According the Sina Weibo account of the "Beat the Four Blacks, Get Rid of the Four Troubles" (打四黑除四害) office, which is attached to China's Public Security Bureau, the Jiangsu Police recently issued a warning about the counterfeit 100 yuan notes with a serial number starting with "PL078574."

The counterfeit notes are also said to feel and sound like genuine bills.

The fake notes that have been spotted in Jiangsu are said to be:

1. 2mm shorter than genuine notes

2. The small 100 that appears on the bottom left-hand side of the note (again, on the side with the serial number), should be printed with color-changing ink. as the fakes simply use green ink, the number won't change color. If the note is real, the color of the 100 will change from blue to green as you adjust the angle from which you look at it

3. Lack the "100" watermark in the top right hand corner of the side with the serial number on it. (see image below)

4. The "security line," the dark visible line that runs the width of the note, is transparent and unclear, and unlike on a real bill it is disjointed.

In 2011 the EO published a translation of advice from China\'s central bank about how to spot a fake hundred yuan note that was released following reports of fakes being spotted in some parts of the country. Some of that advice related to those particular counterfeit notes, but other items on the checklist were more general tips about what to look out for when trying to make sure a bill is genuine.

The Central Bank's Check List ( not all of these apply to the latest batch)

1. All of the fake notes that begin with these 4 serial numbers are produced on offset printing machines

2. The paper that the notes are printed on is smooth and crispy and doesn't glow when placed under an ultraviolet light because there's no fluorescent fiber in the notes

3. The transparent Mao visage that appears in the white area of the note is unclear and has no depth, the counterfeiters simply printed the image on the surface of the note with white ink

4. The fake watermarks on the notes are not as transparent as those that appear on authentic notes

5. The "security line," the dark visible line that runs the width of the note, is printed on the fakes rather than appearing within the note as it does on real bills

6. The "mini characters" that appear in the top left-hand corner of the side of the note with the serial number on it aren't clear on the fake notes. The mini characters refer to the tiny "100 RMB" that appears repeatedly within the small pink 100 that appears on the top left-hand corner of the bill.

7. There's a mismatch between some of the patterns printed on each side of the fake bills

8. The small 100 that appears on the bottom left-hand side of the note (again, on the side with the serial number), should be printed with color-changing ink. as the fakes simply use green ink, the number won't change color. If the note is real, the color of the 100 will change from blue to green as you adjust the angle from which you look at it

9. There are irregular gaps between the digits that make up the serial number (in the bottom left-hand corner) of a fake note

10. On genuine notes, if you rub Mao's shoulder or the two small reverse-L-shaped lines that appear in the bottom right-hand corner of the note, you'll notice that they stick out. On some fake notes these will feel smooth if you rub them, on other fakes it will feel as they’ve been engraved

11. Directly to the right of the green/blue 100 in the bottom left-hand corner is another invisible "100" that only appears when the note is held up to the light. Some fake notes do not use colorless fluorescent ink and thus you will not be able to see this 100. Some of the fakes attempt to show the invisible "100" but the quality is noticeably inferior to that of a genuine note.

Links and Sources
Sina:警方發(fā)布提示：警惕新版PL078574開頭假幣
Economic Observer Online: Rubbing Shoulders With Mao: How to Spot a Fake 100 Yuan Note
Peoples Bank of China:關(guān)于“TJ55”“AZ88”“WL15”“YX86”冠字號碼100元假幣有關(guān)情況的通報