Stained notes are probably stolen notes

Stained notes are probably stolen notes The national crime prevention initiative Banknote Watch is launching a new campaign to educate businesses and the public that a stained note is probably a stolen note. Banknote Watch Chairman, Alan Townsend, tells you what to look out for.

What would you think if you were offered a stained banknote as part of a transaction? Would you consider that the note might be stolen? Or would you think nothing of it and accept it automatically? Each year in the UK, hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash is stolen and stained during the robbery due to the use of cash degradation systems that serve to indelibly mark the cash. If this stained cash then goes into circulation, criminals are being allowed to profit from the proceeds of crime and are encouraged to steal again.

As a crime prevention initiative, Banknote Watch serves to promote the fact that a stained note is probably a stolen note. It aims both to prevent criminals profiting from the proceeds of crime and to reduce the risk of businesses becoming the victims of commercial robbery. If a criminal cannot spend the stained notes they have stolen, they will not have the incentive to try again. This reduces the incidence of robbery on fellow retailers.

Notes become stained when a cash degradation system has been activated during a robbery. These systems are used in tills (by banks, post offices, building societies and retail outlets), ATMs and in cash boxes used by cash-in-transit companies who deliver and collect cash. When activated, cash degradation systems will emit either smoke which will draw attention to the perpetrator and stain the notes, or will activate a liquid dye which will stain the cash and any skin or clothing that it comes into contact with. Some cash degradation systems also include a unique marker which means that the stolen cash can be easily traced back by the Police to the robbery that has taken place.

So what can you do to ensure that you do not play into the criminal’s hands and accept stained and stolen notes? Firstly, encourage your staff to be aware of the risk of accepting stained notes. Notes can be stained with various different colours depending on the systems used to stain the note when it is stolen – red, purple, blue and green stains are all used in various cash degradation systems. New posters are available from Banknote Watch to educate your staff on what such staining looks like.

If you are offered a stained note by a member of the public, treat it as you would a mutilated or damaged note and do not accept it. Advise the customer to take the note to a Post Office or bank and obtain a form BEMN for the repayment of damaged notes. By filling in this form and going through the proper channels, providing the note is genuine, they will be reimbursed for the note they have handed in.

If you feel intimidated by the person trying to give you a stained note, stay calm and do not confront them. Make sure you take a full description of the person concerned and report the incident to the Police. Just like your customers, you will be reimbursed if you hand in a stained note via the proper channels, just contact your bank to obtain the right form.

All businesses can play a very significant role in preventing the circulation of stolen cash and thereby, limiting the appeal of commercial robberies for the criminal fraternity. To help you with this, Banknote Watch has a lot of information available on its website to assist with identifying stained notes and the procedures you should follow when faced with a stained note. It also includes a section on identifying counterfeit notes. Visit www.banknotewatch.co.uk for more information.

Banknote Watch is a partnership crime prevention initiative between the manufacturers/installers and users of cash staining systems, the Government and Police. It has sought specialist advice from the Bank of England and is supported by the Home Office, Scottish Executive, Northern Ireland Office and leading financial/retail organisations.

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