Khaberni - The Central Bank of Iraq issued today, Monday, a strong warning to the public concerning the escalation in fraud and financial deception operations that utilize illegal notes and commemorative coins to ensnare citizens in a net of financial losses.
The bank's media office clarified in an official statement that its regulatory teams had observed suspicious activities being conducted by unscrupulous individuals aiming to exploit citizens under various pretenses and labels, stressing the importance of exercising utmost caution to avoid falling into these criminal snares.
Details of Detected Fraudulent Methods
The statement revealed four main methods used by the counterfeiting and fraud gangs in the Iraqi markets, which are:
- The million-dollar bill trick:
A bill with a denomination of (1,000,000) one million US dollars is promoted as being a valid currency for circulation, while in actuality, it is merely a "commemorative paper" with no monetary value. The Central Bank confirmed that the highest official cash denomination for the US dollar is only (100) dollars.
- The black papers (raw dollar):
Promotion of black paper cutouts sized like the dollar bill, misleading victims into believing they are genuine (100) dollar bills covered with a chemical substance to protect them, and that they will revert to their original form once washed with a special solution. The bank emphasized that these claims are completely false and have no basis in reality.
- Discontinued and replaced currencies:
Selling banknotes from various countries that have been officially withdrawn from circulation and have lost their legal value, where they are offered to the victims for large amounts of Iraqi money with baseless excuses and reasons.
- Replica paper currencies (children’s play money):
Trading banknotes (dollars and dinars) replicated or printed to resemble real currency, but they bear words like "sample" or "void" or "invalid". These papers are usually sold as children’s toys, yet fraudsters try to pass them off in the markets as real currency.
In the context of its regulatory efforts, the Central Bank of Iraq announced an official move to chase down the sources of these papers, where it confirmed notifying the relevant and specialized authorities in order to prevent the printing of these models or importing them from outside Iraq in any form.
The bank also appealed to all citizens to rely only on licensed banks and financial institutions for their cash transactions and to report any suspicious cases immediately to the specialized security authorities.
The bank vowed to pursue those involved in these operations in coordination with intelligence and judicial authorities to ensure the protection of the financial system and public interest.
