Bogus Y10,000 notes passed in Tokyo's Ota Ward

Just need an old school printer and low grade paper not a difficult thing to do.

Wouldbe nice if they told us how they were figured out.

In the UK large denomination notes are often screened (they put them under what appears to be a ultra violet device) at fast food joints and similar places where someone might want to pass of a forged tenner.

Used to work in a bank. We counted the money by hand and one day I just felt a counterfeit note. US bills use specific paper only for notes so it was easy by hand to recognize but not so by eye.

The salesclerk noticed that there were no watermarks.

UV lights do nothing to detect forgeries. If you want to check for forged British notes, there are several ways:

1) There is a vertical metallic strip in the note. This should appear perforated when viewed against a dark background and solid when held to the light. In addition, the metallic strip can't be easily torn.

2) There is a watermark of Queen Bessie II visible when held to the light.

3) The lettering on the note should be embossed, and the ink should "rub off". Try it on a piece of white paper.

4) The serial numbers on the left and right sides of the note should match.

As for Japanese notes, maybe someone can enlighten us...?

Japanese paper currency is not that easy to copy because of the watermarks and other security features. If you work handling money all day, you either know what you are doing and care or you become a zombie not giving a hoot.

Here's more information about Japanese anti-counterfeiting measures.

http://www.npb.go.jp/en/intro/gizou/genzai.html

I had a part-time job counting money. Because of our location (extreme north-west England), we'd get all kinds of weird stuff; Scots notes, of course, but also Ulster money and Isle of Man stuff.

But forgeries were always immediately apparent in the feel, not the look, of the paper....

I bet the A-holes who passed the fake bills "bought" less than 500 yen of stuff.

...you become a zombie not giving a hoot.

I bet that, plus the fact that no store employee would ever have the courage to question a customer, has something to do with this.

Most people still have faith in the system. Much of it runs on trust. They do not check the notes here, well not in any obvious or thorough way.

I still find it slightly shocking and insulting that store employees check my money in the UK, so sometimes when they give me change I make a point of holding it up and checking it back.