Necessity Is The Mother Of Those Fake 1,000 Baht Notes – UPDATE

+++ Update: In a comment below a reader clarified that both banknotes shown below are correct. The fakes seem to be based though on the “old” design. Watch out for this: “The fake notes are printed on paper, not material. The color runs when the bank note is placed in water. The metalic strip doesn’t feel like a metalic strip. You cannot see the water mark when held up to the light.”

Anyway, there may be a variety of fakes out there. I don’t think that fakers are that dumb to just use paper and non-water-resistant color. If you want to be on the safe side, only go for the newer design. Illustration below was sent to me by a reliable source. While Bank of Thailand has a Feel-Look-Tilt test and explains counterfeits of the older and the revised versions.

Watch out, you could be a criminal. By handing out one of those counterfeit 1,000 baht banknotes circulating in considerable masses during these harder days. That’s right. You may have some in your purse. The user of such banknotes will be subject to a maximum of 15 years behind bars and a maximum fine of 30,000 baht.

The Bangkok of Thailand meanwhile warned the public to watch out for those fake banknotes because during the first eleven months of this year, the bank has already retrieved nearly 19,000 counterfeit banknotes, worth 12.3 million baht, from circulation. This is an 80% increase from the same period last year.

Now why doesn’t this come as a surprise. Considering the rise of thefts and general state of mind in the land of the ambiguous smiles. Watch out for those 1,000 baht bills – details below. Or hide that brand new super-duper laser printer you just bought in a safer place. Who would hold it against you. Necessity’s the mother of many a valuable thing.

By the way, if you’re clever enough you can use the counterfeit bills to pay for counterfeit stuff readily available around here, just to mention DVDs, watches, girls and bags. Don’t double negatives make a positive?

Here’s an illustration of the obvious differences between the old and new series (and not of reals and fakes as claimed earlier on …):




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December 18, 2008 | Filed Under Business & Economics, Money & Shopping 

Comments

16 Responses to “Necessity Is The Mother Of Those Fake 1,000 Baht Notes – UPDATE”

  1. Fake 1000 Thai Baht Notes Circulating in Thailand | ThaiPulse on December 19th, 2008 7.34 am

    [...] his Counterfeit 1,000 Baht Note Post, it’s [...]

  2. Andy on December 19th, 2008 7.38 am

    Thanks for this nice visual update. Was just wondering when I read this yesterday, why the other official Thai newspapers didn’t bring any visuals!?

    So samples 1 & 3 are real, samples 2 & 4 fake?

    Any clue Dan?

    Anyhow, I assume if there are so many in circulation, there must be various other fake bills around. So I guess your visuals are not the only fakes available.

    Now I understand why they never print anything bigger than the 1,000 baht …

    ;-)

  3. malaysian explorer on December 19th, 2008 8.09 am

    Hey thanks for the information. Will be in Thailand in a couple of weeks and surely do not want to land behind bars.

    Cheers!

  4. JJ on December 19th, 2008 9.40 am

    And here cometh the Post with some counterfeit info …

  5. Doug on December 19th, 2008 12.39 pm

    So which is real and which is fake?

  6. BangkokDan on December 19th, 2008 12.47 pm

    That’s the easy part Andy & Doug. Just have a look at a bill in your wallet. Or you mean they’re all fakes!?

    BangkokDan

  7. Walter on December 19th, 2008 1.09 pm

    Well looking in my wallet, neither of these two are fakes. The fake does not have the Kings head as a watermark.

  8. Andy on December 19th, 2008 6.01 pm

    Just had a look in my wallet this afternoon (couldn’t check in the morning).

    I can confirm according visuals above!

    Samples 1 & 3 are ok
    2 & 4 are fakes

    With possible other fakes circulating.

    Walter:

    Some watermarks on these banknotes you only can see with special infrared machines (can’t check @ home).

  9. john on December 19th, 2008 6.06 pm

    Times are hard expect more of the same for 2009.

    I need to have a look at my stash today. 15 to 20 years in a cell does not sound like fun.

  10. birdtongchai on December 20th, 2008 1.03 pm

    This is NOT a legit picture of “real” fake notes. The second picture displayed is not a fake but one of the “older type” Thai bank notes.

    NONE of the older type notes have the spots, the flower or the stripe, but are still real notes.

    The second picture doesn’t have the big “silver” strip on the front of the note … The first one does … Why isn’t that circled? The first note backside has a reddish print, while the second one had a green/blue print. There are so many differences between the two notes, but the ones circled in the pictures above is NOT the way to identify them.

    I have about eight notes in my possesion all being FAKE according to these pictures. I went to the bank and they confirmed they were real. When I said I didn’t want them, they exchanged them for newer notes without a problem.

  11. john on December 20th, 2008 8.52 pm

    Fake notes are really hard to tell because who really looks hard at them unless you work in a bank. In Udon Thani I have never seen a fake and to be honest I could not be 100% sure if there are any around.

    In England they give them out of the ATMs they’re that good.

  12. bernie newson on December 22nd, 2008 2.39 pm

    This article is incorrect. You have just compared one old banknote with a newer updated one, both the ones shown here are fine. My wife (Thai), a very “sticky” certified accountant who works for a “farang” firm went and checked with three Thai banks and when my wife checks something, she does not go the mai pen rai route.

    The fake notes are printed on paper, not material. The color runs when the bank note is placed in water. The metalic strip doesn’t feel like a metalic strip. You cannot see the water mark when held up to the light.

  13. 007 on December 22nd, 2008 10.28 pm

    Just had a 7/11 cashier check my 1,000 baht bill with some “magic pen.”

    Was one of the newer bills obviously.

    Guess the illustration is correct after all. Most fakes in circulation are attempts to copy the older versions.

    But there must be good counterfeiting out there, otherwise they wouldn’t check the new bills.

    Thai banknotes are anyway not too tricky to imitate it seems. As is the greenback.

    That’s why we don’t get any 5,000 or 10,000 baht bills.

  14. Navtej on December 23rd, 2008 6.06 pm

    Above picture is just old and new series not the fake one. Please check this link for clarification.

    I think many people are misguided with this picture because during use they may consider old series as fake ones. Please consider this …

  15. BangkokDan on December 23rd, 2008 6.41 pm

    Updated some time ago Navtej, please read the whole thing including the intro.

    BangkokDan

  16. Timpatco on January 11th, 2009 7.24 am

    Hi,

    This snip is erroneous info:

    “The fake notes are printed on paper, not material.”

    Actually, banknotes are printed on high rag content paper, the supply of which is restricted to approved mints. The are NOT printed on “material” per se.

    Timpatco a former Xeroid

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