Darknet activity is becoming far more common around the world than most people think. Interestingly enough, the focus by online criminals is shifting from the drug market to creating counterfeit euro bills these days. With the Christmas holidays almost upon us, consumers and retailers need to be more vigilant than ever before. As the number of fake currency in circulation is reaching alarming heights.
Counterfeit Euro Currency Is Booming On The Darknet
German newspaper Volksfreund issued an interesting article regarding the growth of counterfeit money on the deep web. In fact, it appears both the production, as well as sales, of counterfeit Euro currency is on the rise in a worrisome matter. Using fake currency allows criminals to purchase products in-store at a fraction of the normal cost.
To be more precise, there is an alarming amount of fake Euro bills in circulation in the Rhineland-Palatinate region in Germany. Shop owners and local banks have been filing police reports regarding this emerging trend, warranting a full-fledged investigation. As one would expect, criminals are counterfeiting larger denomination bills, such as the 50 and 100 Euro versions.
Making matters worse is the sheer quality of these counterfeit bills. To the naked eye, they appear indistinguishable from the real product. Even when holding both types of bill side by side, it is virtually impossible to tell the difference. A trained eye can easily spot the discrepancies, though, but for the average consumer or store owner, it is impossible to distinguish.
Analysts predict there are thousands of fake 50 euro bills in circulation all over Germany right now. Since these bills are the most commonly used form of cash during the holiday season, shop owners will need to keep a close eye on these purchases. Then again, with the increasing amount of purchases made over the coming weeks, weeding out the fake currency will be quite the challenge.
Counterfeiters have come up with new distribution method to dispense these fake Euro bills with relative ease. Darknet markets provide them with the outlet they so desperately sought, as people are buying up the fake currency in large quantities. Rather than running the risk of spending currency themselves, selling counterfeit bills on the darknet alleviates some of the security concerns criminals may have.
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