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Bank Robbers, Counterfeiters and The Queen

February 2023

A few weeks ago, The Bank of England revealed what our new banknotes would look like. Whether it’s a tenner, a fiver or a twenty-pound note, all our money here has one key thing in common – the Queen​.

But since we lost dear old Queenie and King Charles has taken the throne, that’s all about to change. The King hasn’t officially been coronated yet, that will happen in May, but preparations have already been made to start rolling out new banknotes.

The new money won’t be in circulation until 2024, and they’re planning to only print in volumes needed to replace old or worn notes (always thinking about the environment, hey?) .

To be honest, I’m not that fussed about whose photo is on our bank notes. I mean, as long as it still buys me a pint in the pub I’m happy! But there was another story about banknotes recently that caught my attention. 

Forgery has been a problem as long as money has been around itself. And despite the Bank of England rolling out tons of security features on each and every note, forgers still forge… Over the past 10 years, since the good old B of E introduced our plastic notes, forgeries have significantly dropped…From approximately 2.8% of the cash circulating to less than 0.0031%! That’s quite a drop! But it hasn’t put them all off. Especially those with a sense of humour it seems… 

One man in Chichester recently thought he was in luck after finding a stray £20 note floating down the street. But he was soon disappointed… The note was a fake, and not a good one either. Instead of the face of the Queen, the forgers had printed the face of Jesus! With the title Bank of Heaven, instead of Bank of England. Now, I don’t know if this was a genuine forgery attempt or a church advertising campaign with an odd twist? But the poor chap was gutted when he realised his find wasn’t genuine. But the sad truth is that scammers and forgers, robbers and conmen are everywhere, all around the world. 

And the freight industry is no exception. That’s why it’s so important to deal with people you trust. When you’re moving goods around the world there’s often a fair chunk of cash exchanges hands too, so you need to be sure that you’re sending it to someone genuine AND that the bank details you’ve been given haven’t been intercepted. If you’ve any doubt, pick up the phone and ask… 

So how about you? Have you heard of any scams, forgeries or even heist stories in your area? I’d love to hear your tales…

English