Police arrested a mother-daughter pair and seized 54 bogus HK$500 banknotes on Thursday.

The number of bogus banknotes of various denominations seized in the first 11 months of 2020 rose by 68 per cent year on year to nearly 13,500, up from 8,009 in 2019, according to the latest figures.

Police seized 11,771 counterfeit HK$1,000 (US$129) banknotes between January and November, 2020, up 103 per cent from 5,785 in the whole of 2019.

Police warned Hongkongers to be aware of bogus banknotes ahead of Lunar New Year following the discovery of a makeshift counterfeit note workshop in a public housing flat in Fanling.

Officers arrested the flat's tenant and her daughter, seizing 54 bogus HK$500 banknotes along with unfinished notes and production equipment on Thursday evening.

The arrests were made after police found more than 50 counterfeit banknotes of different denominations had been circulating, mainly in the New Territories, since December.

After examining security camera footage, police identified a 43-year-old woman who was suspected of being linked to five cases of fake note circulation over the past three weeks.

"The seized fake bills were made with an inkjet printer. Glitter pens were used to make security features such as windowed metallic thread on the notes in an attempt to fool people," Senior Inspector Barry Tang Kwok-hin of the commercial crime bureau said.

He said the bogus notes were of poor quality and the fakes could be easily distinguished because the bills lacked security features and an embossed feel.

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Bogus banknote seizures up 68 per cent last year, as Hong Kong police raid fake bill workshop, detain mother-daughter pair(https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3119821/bogus-banknote-seizures-68-cent-last-year-hong-kong)