Counterfeit Banknotes

Share
Print

As an expert on the law concerning banknote counterfeiting, the CBRT is responsible for sustaining trust in the Turkish lira. 

Counterfeit Banknote Monitoring System (SBİS)

To closely monitor and detect banknote counterfeiting activities all around Türkiye, the CBRT has developed a Counterfeit Banknote Monitoring System (SBİS) that operates as part of the Bank. 

The system entered operation on 1 January 2006, and it is also used by central and 81 local directorates of the Directorate General of Turkish National Police and the General Gendarmerie Command as well as by the relevant units of the Directorate General of Customs Enforcement. 

The SBİS helps law enforcement bodies to detect banknote counterfeiting activities and thus fight against forgery in a more efficient manner. In addition, it enables the CBRT to better analyze the damage banknote counterfeiting does to the country’s economy.

Through the SBİS, the Bank can also track and identify which security features of banknotes produced by the Banknote Printing Plant are counterfeited and to what extent. The results obtained through this system are very important for determining the security features of new emission group banknotes. 

What should you do when you detect a counterfeit banknote? 

When you suspect that a banknote is counterfeit, you should,

  • Check the security features on the banknote,
  • Compare it with a genuine banknote,
  • Avoid damaging it with writing, drawing, piercing or tearing,
  • Take it to the nearest Office of Chief Public Prosecutor or law enforcement officers and inform them where and whom the banknote came from. 

Which phone number should you call to report a counterfeit banknote? 

To report a counterfeit banknote, you can call the 155 Police Emergency line or 156 Gendarmerie Hotline. Keep in mind that any report of counterfeiting may be crucial to revealing a suspect or a counterfeiting ring.