The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) published Austria’s 2024 counterfeit banknote statistics, reporting 10,213 counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation, up from 7,842 in 2023 and returning towards the long-term pre-pandemic average. After a sharper increase in counterfeits in January and February 2024 versus 2023, volumes during the remainder of the year were in line with the long-run average. The EUR 50 banknote accounted for the largest share of seized counterfeits at 4,258 (41.7%), followed by the EUR 100 at 2,520 (24.7%) and the EUR 20 at 2,154 (21.1%). Compared with around 2.5 billion euro banknotes checked for authenticity and fitness by the OeNB, Geldservice Austria and commercial banks, this equated to roughly one counterfeit per 255,000 notes. The OeNB contrasted the fraud value from counterfeit cash (several hundred thousand EUR) with misuse of card and account data for transfers (a mid double-digit million EUR amount) and reiterated that counterfeits can be detected without technical aids using the “feel, look, tilt” checks. The release notes that Eurosystem central banks have already started developing a new banknote series to further enhance anti-counterfeiting protection.
Austrian National Bank (OeNB) 2025-02-21
Austrian National Bank reports 10,213 counterfeit euro banknotes seized in Austria in 2024
The Austrian National Bank reported a rise in counterfeit euro banknotes in 2024, with 10,213 notes withdrawn, up from 7,842 in 2023, nearing pre-pandemic levels. The EUR 50 note was the most counterfeited, comprising 41.7% of seizures. The OeNB highlighted the disparity between counterfeit cash fraud and higher losses from card and account data misuse, noting ongoing efforts to develop a new banknote series to improve anti-counterfeiting measures.