POLICE have warned that fake UK bank notes are circulating in the run-up to Christmas.

Fraudsters are adding more bogus notes to the country's circulation.

Police have confirmed fake currency is currently in circulation and during the build up to Christmas the amount of it has been massively increasing with the Facebook account run by the Force posting: "FAKE £10 notes are circulating”.

The notes are subtly different in the way they feel, in the difference between orange and silver stamps and there is no tower in the clear circle.

The police advice is that "these will be rife with Christmas approaching and money moving through hands fast” and that people should try to “Stay safe and be 'scam aware' this festive season."

The Bank of England has also published official advice on identifying real notes, listing security features included on the real tenners that will help to know if you have been fooled.

These security features are:

  • The hologram image at the bottom of the note will change from displaying the word 'ten' to the word 'pounds' when tilted from side to side.
  • The metallic image on the transparent window near the middle of the note should be gold on the front of the note and silver on the back.
  • An image of the Queen with the words '£10 Bank of England' printed twice around the outside should be displayed in this transparent window.
  • The foil '£' symbol at the bottom of the same window should be silver on the front of the note and copper on the back The quill adorning the other side of the window should change from purple to orange and vice versa when the note is tilted from side to side.
  • A silver foil patch containing a 3D image of the coronation crown should be on the front of the note above the see-through window.
  • A copper foil patch in the shape of a book should be found on the beck of the note, directly behind the crown image on the frontThe real notes are printed on polymer and you should be able to feel raised print, such as on the words 'Bank of England' across the top of the note.
  • There should be no smudges or blurred edges on the printed lines and colours, and you should be able to see the value of the note written in small letters and numbers below the main portrait of the Queen The number '10' should appear red and green against a duller background under a good ultraviolet light