An Aberdeenshire retailer has warned against accepting English £20 notes with a BB81 serial number, after receiving five fake notes across his estate. He’s also advised retailers on how to combat increasingly realistic fake notes.

Shahid Ali, who has a five-store estate across Aberdeenshire, has received four notes which have identical BB81275037 serial numbers, as well as a fifth whose serial number begins with BB81 but has a different ending.

Ali called them “by far the best fakes I’ve seen in 40 years retailing”. They were so convincing that his shop staff were divided as to whether the notes were real or fake.

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Ali told Better Retailing: “The easiest way to tell the fakes from real notes is to look at the King’s face on the bottom right of the back of the note, where there is a window with an arch-shaped top. On the real one, this surface changes between saying ‘Twenty’ and saying ‘Pounds’ as it moves in the light. On the fake one, this patch will only say ‘Twenty’ without changing”.

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Ali added that he had seen several posts “openly advertising the fake notes” on Facebook, and that fake notes suspected to be from the same source had also been reported in a Lancashire retailer WhatsApp group.

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“The fake ones are missing a certain texture if you rub across King Charles’ face on the note. On the fake one Charles’ face is smooth, while on the real ones it has a bit of texture.”

A holographic crown is also missing from a silver patch on the top of the fake notes.

Ali advised retailers: “You can’t use a pen to check the new plastic notes, so you need a UV light. Don’t go for low power options, like 4W; get a 9W to 11W one, as shops can be very bright,” adding that he has opted for note checkers made by Safescan.

Reacting to the appearance of the batch of counterfeits, Neighbourhood Watch Scotland said: “Businesses and members of the public are urged to stay alert and report any suspicious notes to Police.”

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