- Scammers sell fake bills on social media
- Research by No1 Currency shows they are paying to advertise online
- And there are concerns that scammers are taking away the most vulnerable.
Scammers are blatantly advertising counterfeit bills on social media, and even offering “bulk purchase” discounts on their counterfeit money to the most vulnerable, a major currency company warns.
Social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram and X, are flooded with carefully targeted ads offering free shipping and discounts on counterfeit bills.
The ads show wads of £10 and £20 notes, as well as high-denomination euro notes, claiming that the counterfeit money is realistic enough to pass security checks.
Show fake money: criminals use social networks to sell counterfeit bills
Criminals are selling counterfeit notes online at a fraction of the face value of what real notes are worth, according to an exclusive investigation for No1 Currency’s This is Money.
A criminal was selling £14,000 of counterfeit notes for £1,200 and £150,000 of counterfeit money for £10,000.
This is Money’s own investigation showing one offender with wads of advertising for “high-quality polymer banknotes” on Facebook in recent weeks, while another had been posting since February.
In 2023, less than 1 in 40,000 banknotes were counterfeit, according to the Bank of England.
However, an investigation by travel money company No1 Currency found that some scammers are paying for sponsored posts to appear on the social media timelines of vulnerable people.
Cookies that record which websites you use help display the ads you see on social media, so those struggling to make ends meet are especially likely to be targeted.
The firm says that those behind the advertisements are committing a crime, while unsuspecting people who part with their money to buy counterfeit notes run the risk of being scammed if their notes do not arrive or of committing a crime themselves.
An Instagram account offers discounts for “bulk purchases” of counterfeit bills
Even if the bills arrive, they have no value and any store or bank that receives them is required to confiscate them and notify the authorities.
Simon Phillips, CEO of No1 Currency, said: “It is worrying to see organized criminals advertising so blatantly on social media.
‘Their clever advertisements offer a dangerous fantasy: the ability to buy supposedly realistic-looking banknotes for a fraction of their face value.
‘The reality is that modern banknotes are packed with security features, from holograms and precision printing to distinctive metal inserts placed within the multi-layer polymer construction.
‘Social media companies must do more to address this blatantly fraudulent activity. If criminals can pay to advertise their services so openly, it suggests there is something seriously rotten in the approval process for these tech giants.’
Technology companies have come under increased scrutiny for the role they play in how criminals target their victims.
Our sister title Money Mail has been campaigning for the government to force tech companies to step in and stop scammers.
Last year, we revealed a new recruitment scam circulating on WhatsApp and how Facebook Marketplace had become a hotspot for scammers.
While big tech companies including Meta, eBay, Google and Amazon have signed a voluntary “Charter Against Online Fraud,” online scams are still rife.
A Meta spokesperson told This Is Money: “Fraudulent activity is not permitted on our platforms and we remove this content as soon as it is identified.”
“We are continually investing in new technologies to address this industry-wide issue and encourage people to report activities like this to us and the police so we can take action.”
