Thai officials alerted the public on Tuesday to be cautious of counterfeit 1,000-baht banknotes after several complaints from vendors,
Officials said that they are rushing the investigation to identify the perpetrators.
As Thailand’s inflation soared to a record high in 13 years largely due to a hike in energy and food prices, counterfeit money appears to be on the rise.
Over the past weekend, local media reported a case of 30 fake 1,000-baht banknotes in a day
Yingyot Thepjamnong, the Royal Thai Police spokesman, said police across the country are prepared to take action against the counterfeiters.
“This is to prevent troubles for innocent Thai people,” Yingyot explained. “This includes danger to the economy.”
Under the Criminal Code Section 240, anyone who counterfeits money could receive life imprisonment or a prison term of up to 20 years, and a fine of up to 40,000 baht.
Those using counterfeit money to make purchases shall face up to 15 years in prison, with a fine of up to 30,000 baht.
According to the Bank of Thailand, Thai banknotes are produced with particularly anti-counterfeit features, such as distinctive paper, raised prints, and watermarks.
Yingyot advised the public to notice the banknote’s security thread, the embedded color-shifting thread, when held up against the light to prove the authenticity of a particular note.
“When flipped, the metallic color will change from gold to green,” he said, adding that the thread on the bills may be damaged from use, but this still furthers authenticity as older bills are generally damaged.
