{"id":617015,"date":"2025-12-07T01:36:32","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T01:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/617015\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T01:36:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T01:36:32","slug":"epidemic-of-fake-cash-sold-online-is-wiping-out-our-profits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/617015\/","title":{"rendered":"Epidemic of fake cash sold online ‘is wiping out our profits’"},"content":{"rendered":"

SPECIAL REPORT: Businesses have seen a spate of incidents as social media is awash with accounts advertising huge bundles of counterfeit cash for sale\"ShopkeeperShopkeeper Perpetina Lourdusamy, 56, with counterfeit banknotes in her store on County Road.(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s County Road is awash with counterfeit notes as local businesses struggle to spot convincing fakes. Multiple businesses on the north Liverpool high street<\/a> and the surrounding area have reported customers attempting to use counterfeit<\/a> cash in recent weeks as they count the cost of lost merchandise.<\/p>\n

The ECHO has seen several Liverpool-based social media accounts offering fake bank notes for sale on platforms such as Instagram<\/a>, Telegram, and Whatsapp. When the ECHO visited, Perpetina Lourdusamy, 56, stands behind the till at the Go Local on County Road<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two convincing counterfeit \u00a320 notes were taped above the bottles of vodka and Martini. The shop took both fakes in the last week of November. She said: “\u00a340 is an awful lot of products. It wipes out our profits. It has gotten worse recently, but we\u2019re more alert to it now, and the people doing it will likely go elsewhere.”<\/p>\n

Counterfeit money is being advertised openly on social media by accounts appearing to be based in Liverpool. Several Instagram accounts have been seen by the ECHO<\/a>, linking to profiles on messaging services such as Telegram and WhatsApp.<\/p>\n

One Liverpool-based seller quoted the ECHO<\/a> \u00a3300 for \u00a34,000 worth of notes when contacted. The seller also shared a video of thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit notes bagged-up and ready to go. A counterfeit note seller also shared a menu for a plethora of drugs, from several types of valium to zopiclone sleeping pills, and from cocaine to benzodiazepines.<\/p>\n

\"RajeeRajee Gamage, 45, owner of PXK Booze, holds a fake \u00a310 note used on County Road, Liverpool.(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Rajee Gamage, 45, owner of PXK Booze pulled a counterfeit note from his wallet when the ECHO visited to ask about the issue. The \u00a310 note was almost identical to the real thing, but had a precision-made adhesive strip stuck over the clear plastic section.<\/p>\n

When peeled away, the words \u2018Prop Money\u2019 and \u2018COPY\u2019 are revealed. The note was received last week. Rajee did not notice the fake before the individual had left the shop.<\/p>\n

Rajee said: \u201cI\u2019ve had a few twenties, and a few tens. I wouldn\u2019t usually check tenners. The bank won\u2019t take it. It hurts our business; if you take a couple of these a day, it wipes out your profits. We need a solution, and everyone needs a machine [to check notes], but they\u2019re expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CounterfeitCounterfeit banknotes used on County Road.(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Jeff Kelly\u2019s newsagent, Kelly\u2019s News, founded by Jeff\u2019s father in the 1970s, is already struggling with a drop in footfall in the area. Jeff, 64, says takings have dropped 60% in two years at the shop on Walton<\/a> Road.<\/p>\n

Jeff said: \u201cThere have been loads of fake notes going around. We had two yesterday. All the businesses down the road have been getting them. It\u2019s a big killer for businesses. They\u2019re everywhere around Liverpool at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instagram is awash with accounts offering counterfeit cash for sale. The ECHO quickly identified eight such accounts ostensibly based in Liverpool. Many of the accounts share images of huge bundles of fake notes, and many of the fakes are very convincing.<\/p>\n

\"videoHeadline\"\/Liverpool counterfeit cash ‘everywhere’<\/p>\n

Bev Martin, 60, manager at the Royal Oak pub on Walton Road, has paid \u00a3120 out of her own pocket to pay for a machine to check for counterfeit notes after a spate of incidents. The pub took \u00a3100 in counterfeit notes last month.<\/p>\n

A customer attempted to use a fake note as recently as Sunday, November 30. Bev said: \u201cIt upset me. It\u2019s \u00a3100 down the drain. I have an overall figure I have to meet everyday or I can\u2019t close my computer down at the end of the day. It has a huge knock-on effect for the whole business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA machine used to check counterfeit banknotes in the Royal Oak pub on County Road.(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Carl Swindells, manager of the Thomas Frost Wetherspoon pub, said the business has also been targeted by individuals trying to pass off dummy notes as the real thing. He said: \u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of fake notes lately, and we\u2019ve had to put a sign on the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carl said individuals have attempted to use fake notes in the fruit machines in recent weeks. The machines shut down when fake notes are used.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt\u2019s unusual to have this number, especially in a Wetherspoons; they usually target the smaller venues. You can usually spot the people using them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CounterfeitCounterfeit banknotes used on County Road.(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Public Protection team at Liverpool City Council said: \u201cIf you are offered notes at less than their face value it probably means they are counterfeit. Passing them on is a criminal offence.<\/p>\n

“If you suspect you have one you should pass it to the police or hand it in to a bank. You can check if a note is genuine by looking for the clear watermark or transparent window with images or text embedded within it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have a tip or a story? Contact jon.blackburn@liverpoolecho.co.uk<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPECIAL REPORT: Businesses have seen a spate of incidents as social media is awash with accounts advertising huge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,61351,188,393,4884,179,16,15,9597],"class_list":{"0":"post-617015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-county-road","10":"tag-crime","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-liverpool","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-walton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115675726068091507","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}