UK tourists in Turkey told ‘you should not’ as warning issued by Foreign Office

Brits on holiday in Turkey have been warned of the risks of counterfeit banknotes by the UK Foreign Office. There’s been a ‘reported surge’ in counterfeit $50 and $100 US dollar bills in the country, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has warned.

UK travellers are told that banks and money exchanges in Turkey may not accept these bank notes. Holidaymakers are also warned not to accept these banknotes themselves.

The FDCO issued an update for its travel guidance for Turkey on December 5. It says: “Banks and money exchanges may not accept $50 or $100 US dollar bills, due to a reported surge in counterfeit banknotes of these denominations in Turkey. You should not accept these banknotes where possible.”

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According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, the US dollar and the Euro are the most frequently counterfeited foreign currencies in Turkey. The same methods used for counterfeiting Turkish lira bank notes are also used for foreign bank notes.

The bank said that counterfeit US dollar bank notes are mostly produced with offset printing technology, whereas digital technology is preferred in the production of counterfeit Euro banknotes.

It warns that counterfeit foreign bank notes can be identified via the following features: produced with paper that can be easily found on the market; and watermarks and security threads are imitated through print. But the bank warns that features revealed by UV light are “counterfeited so successfully” that they can be “highly deceptive”.

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