The ECB has announced that during the second half of 2013, 353.000 counterfeit euro banknotes of various denominations were withdrawn from circulation. During the corresponding period of 2012, 280.000 counterfeit banknotes were withdrawn, compared with 317.000 withdrawn during the first half of 2013. The €20 and €50 denominations exhibited the highest rates of counterfeiting, accounting for 43% and 35% of the total, respectively.
In Cyprus, during the second half of 2013, 166 pieces of counterfeit euro banknotes of various denominations were identified and removed from circulation. The €50 banknote had the highest rate of counterfeiting in Cyprus, accounting for 73,5% of the total. In total, 313 counterfeit euro banknotes were identified and withdrawn from circulation in 2013 resulting in an annual decrease of 74% when compared with 2012. It should be noted that, during 2013 the amount of banknotes deposited in banks was significantly lower than in 2012, due to the extraordinary circumstances which prevailed.
In comparison with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation, the quantity of counterfeits remains low.
Despite the very small amount of counterfeits, the Central Bank of Cyprus advises the public to closely monitor the banknotes received in cash transactions. For the purposes of applying simple checks of whether a banknote is genuine, relevant information exists on the Central Bank of Cyprus and ECB websites.
http://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/security/html/index.en.html