Viral FB Post Warns Malaysians To Be Careful When Receiving RM50 Notes At The Pasar Malam
With wear and tear, the note actually separates into two pieces of paper.
By Samantha Khor — 23 Jan 2017, 01:03 PM
In a post that has gone viral, a Facebook user cautioned the public to be careful when receiving RM50 notes as she claimed to have gotten several counterfeit notes recently, especially in the pasar malam (night market)
The circulation of counterfeit RM50 and even RM100 notes are not unheard of in Malaysia, with reports surfacing every once in a while. In truth, there are probably more incidents that have gone unreported.
Posted on Saturday, 21 January, the Facebook post mentioned above has accumulated over 7,000 shares during the time of writing.
At first glance, the counterfeit RM50 note may look like the real thing. But the counterfeiters seem to have done a sloppy job, as it is revealed that the note is actually two separate pieces of paper with wear and tear!
How can you quickly check if a RM50 or RM100 note you've received is fake? A video from 2015 suggests scraping the vertical hologram strip on the note with your fingernails. If it's a counterfeit note, the foil can be easily scraped off.
This method may not work on all counterfeit notes, as there are some sophisticated ones out there. But it's still a convenient way to identify fake notes for when you don't have a bank detector with UV light on hand nor time to compare the note's details with the real deal.