Counterfeiting the Solomon Islands dollar is easy, says a print specialist in Honiara.

“I have been in the business for over 20 years, the technology and printing machines available now makes counterfeiting easy.

“It is quite easy if one wanted to do it, papers similar to the notes we use can be sourced online. Also, there are people on the dark web that offer counterfeiting service, for Euro the US dollar almost any money in the World. These counterfeit bills are of exceptional quality.

“It is not easy to spot a good counterfeit, and I suspect the ones that have been taken out of circulation is just a small number compared to what is out there.”

Counterfeit scams come with a huge cost, any person or business found to be printing and issuing legal tender notes and coins is committing an offence, and can be fined $50,000.00 or imprisoned for 7 years.

In 2021, the total counterfeit (fake money) reported amounts to $7,140.00. From the total, the fake notes comprise of 27 pieces of $100 fake notes, 88 pieces of $50 fake notes and 2 pieces of $20 fake notes.

In comparison, fake notes reported in 2020 totaled only $500.00 and $700.00 in 2019. From the reported cases, it is clear the Counterfeiters are only targeting higher denomination from $20, $50 and $100 notes.

The public are advised to look for the following features if they are unsure;

• Woven silver thread line (hold banknote up to light to see clearly)
• Watermark depicting eagles head (new series) it is visible from both sides of the banknotes
• Silver dual image hologram on $50.00 and $100.00 notes
• Colour and texture of banknotes where the colour should stand out, and banknote surface should be rough/raised prints, when feel it with your hands/fingers
• Look for electrotype word “CBSI” at the background when holding banknote against a light
• Block of invisible inks on the surface of the notes
• Red fluorescent serial numbering, sizes and edges of banknotes are even
• Do a simple colour test by rubbing against a white paper, the colour of the note will be noticed on the paper

With reports from