Kinross man tried to forge bank notes using home computer
A hapless forger who printed a variety of bank notes on his home computer has been told he could face prison.
Gibson's efforts did not quite match up to the real thing.
- By Mark Mackay
- Published in the Courier : 22.07.10
- Published online : 22.07.10 @ 08.57am
Alan Gibson knocked up the Bank of Scotland, Bank of England and Royal Bank of Scotland £10 and £20 notes on a basic system, scanner and printer.
However, the 57-year-old's plans to pass off the counterfeit notes as genuine were swiftly scuppered by their shoddy quality of his forgeries.
Appearing at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday, a rueful Gibson admitted that police officers who raided his home in Mill Street, Kinross, had described them as "absolute rubbish."
That poor quality could be his only saving grace as Sheriff Michael Fletcher said his liberty likely rested on the notes being unlikely to have duped even the most gullible shopkeeper.
Having printed the first of his notes at home, Gibson made his first foray into public at Baynes Bakery in Kinross High Street.
To check their quality he approached a member of staff, told them he believed he had been passed a duff note and asked them to check it for him.
The £20 note was checked and the accused was informed it was clearly counterfeit.
Bakery staff told Gibson they would have to hold onto the note and contact the police, at which point the accused left the premises.
Undeterred by the failure of his notes, he decided to press on and use the money for real, picking the Kinross Market as the ideal target.
A little over a week after his visit to the bakery, he attempted to pass another counterfeit £20 note to a stall-holder at the market.
The forgery did not stand up to scrutiny and Gibson left the note with the unimpressed stall-holder, having attempted to talk his way out of trouble by again claiming he had been unwittingly passed the note.
