Business owners in the city of Tiberias, who are also routinely burdened by the ongoing war in the north, have recently been forced to deal with 'bites' from criminal elements who distribute high-quality counterfeit money.
According to a report by Shimon Ifergan on the 'Mako' website, the bills even manage to pass the inspection machines - and cause thousands of shekels in damage to each store.
According to the report, several days ago, young people came to stores and the market in Shikun D in the city of Tiberias and purchased food and clothing from wherever they could find them. They paid with counterfeit bills that successfully passed the bill-checking machines, and even received a change from the sellers.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
G., a large business owner in Tiberias, told Mako: "At the end of the day I went to deposit the money in the bank. The next day I received a message that at least 15 200-shekel bills were counterfeit. And so it happened to other shop owners and market stall owners. How hard we were hit. It's not enough that we lost because of the war and didn't receive any compensation, the criminals knocked us out financially. They simply broke us.".
A criminal told 'Mako': "It's easiest to buy counterfeit banknotes, especially in the markets. Most merchants don't have special machines and they take the banknotes and put them in their pockets without checking. They then roll the banknotes to suppliers and if they don't find them, the banknotes pass through many hands. Only at the bank do they find out about the counterfeit, but it's too late.".
According to the report, there are currently about ten underground factories operating in the north of the country and in the Palestinian Authority territories for printing banknotes, most of them in communities in the Arab sector.
Most of the banknotes are sold on Telegram channels. The unsold banknotes are distributed by members of criminal organizations and their families, who use them to purchase basic consumer goods and vegetables in the markets.
The phenomenon is not limited to Tiberias, and many counterfeit banknotes were also discovered in Afula, Beit Shean, Nazareth, Safed, and Haifa.
In the past year, police have arrested suspects in forgery and distribution, and some have been sentenced to prison terms of between three and five years.
Following the situation, many warnings were distributed in Tiberias calling for checking every bill. Oshri Weizman, editor of the 'Tiberias and the Surroundings' website, warned several times about the phenomenon: "My goal is to warn the public that the distribution of bills causes economic damage to business owners, who were already severely affected by the war and have not yet been compensated. It is very worthwhile not to be lazy and check every bill.".
