Claim
An image of a 500 rupee note with an asterisk or 'star' sign in the number panel is circulating with false claims that these are counterfeit. The image is circulating on Facebook with the caption, “500 notes marked with * have started circulating in the market. Such note was returned from IndusInd Bank. This is a fake note. Even today received 2-3 such notes from a customer, but returned it immediately due to attention. The customer also said that this note was given by someone in the morning. Be careful, there has been an increase in the number of people walking around with fake notes in the market.”
Fact
BOOM debunked the claim earlier this year in July when it went viral with a similar claim. We had then reached out to Reserve Bank of India’s spokesperson Yogesh Dayal who confirmed that the notes with the star symbol in the number panel are valid legal tender. The Reserve Bank of India also issued a statement which stated, “It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank that the validity of banknotes with a Star (*) symbol present on the number panel has recently been the subject of discussions on some social media platforms. In this connection, it is informed that the Star (*) symbol is inserted in the number panel of a banknote that is used as replacement for defectively printed banknotes in a packet of 100 pieces of serially numbered banknotes.”