Detection of counterfeit euro bank notes increased in the second half of 2007 from the first six months, with 296,000 fake bills withdrawn from circulation according to figures from the European Central Bank.
The number represented an increase of 31,000 banknotes from the first half of the year and from the second half of 2006.
When compared with the number of genuine euro notes in circulation, 11.4 billion between June and December, 'the quantity of counterfeits is very small indeed,' the ECB said in a statement.
Most of the notes recovered, 96%, were found within the euro zone, with the €50 note the one most falsified, followed by the €20 bill.
But the number of counterfeit €100 notes also increased slightly to represent 22% of the total, the bank said.
