If you habitually withdraw cash from any automated teller machine (ATM), just check the notes once whether it is original or fake. The complaints are increasing about the dispensing the counterfeit notes through ATMs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a notice to banks. It says that Banks should ensure that fake notes should not give through ATMs or any of exchange counters.

The RBI has also said to the customers that they should complain about the fake notes to the concerned authorities. Further, the circulation of fake notes through ATMs would be treated as an attempt to circulate forged notes by the bank concerned.

The annual report of RBI says that there were Rs 1,76,75,150 fake notes are in circulation in 2005-’06. It was as of Rs 2,43,79,460 notes in 2004-’05. However, the total value of fake note circulation has come down but the major cause behind that many cases go unreported.

On the RBI circular, a banker said that

there is a counterfeit note detection system in place already. The sources of money for banks are cash deposited by the public, cash drawn from the RBI and the currency chest.

At every step, there is a system in place to check the genuineness of the notes. However, whether that system is fool-proof is open to debate.

Now if you get any fake notes through any ATMs just go to the concerned authority the ATM withdrawal slip. The slip is the best proof to ensure that banks take responsibility for the counterfeit notes dispensed through their ATMs.

Moreover, mind you, if any of the banks refuse to take cognizance of the complain, you can go to the nearest police station and just lodge a complain against the bank.

Read