"Inside the Bold World of Crime Gangs Using TikTok to Sell £10K Counterfeits for Just £500 – Fast Delivery Guaranteed!"

STARING down at the bulging wad of counterfeit £20 notes they’d bought for just a fraction of its ‘worth’, the online buyer “can’t believe this, it honestly feels like a dream” – before going on a spending spree.

The individual is among a growing number of young people buying fake money from crooks brazenly advertising their wares on – a blight considered an “epidemic” in some UK cities.

Filmmaker Sam Tulley discovered crooks are using TikTok to advertise they are selling counterfeit money Credit: Tullen Productions / DOCO Documentaries One TikTok user claimed they could send the fake cash anywhere in the UK within hours Credit: Supplied

Claiming to be “A++ grade” copies that are “identical to the ”, crooks are flogging in bulk asking £200 for £2,000 of dodgy notes, £300 for £5,000 and £500 for £10,000.

The London-born forger, who claimed to be able to ship the fakes anywhere in the UK within hours, directed people through TikTok videos to a secretive Telegram channel, which had more than 10,200 people members.

Buyers snapped up sizeable sums – including one man in his twenties, who bought fakes worth £35,000, and some who posted their plush purchases including a £2,000 brand new iPhone and a £120 aftershave.

In the past few months, police forces around the country have issued warnings of a spike in counterfeit money being used and locals businesses called it a “big killer” that “wipes out our profits” during an increasingly difficult time to stay afloat.

It comes just four years after four men were sentenced for the UK’s biggest fake cash operation after producing more than £12million of dodgy notes, which they planned to flood the nation with.

Now concerns are growing of even more fakes getting into circulation due to the ease of which crooked counterfeit sellers are able to market their wares through TikTok and other social media.

Filmmaker Sam Tullen, 23, who investigated the adverts and videos shared on the platform for his new documentary series Disclosed, out today on YouTube, was horrified to find the illegal trade was happening in plain site.

He tells The Sun: “I was scrolling on TikTok when I came across it on my ‘For You’ page. It was crazy.

“Traditionally, counterfeit money is a more underground operation – it’s either who you know or you have to go looking for it on the dark web.

“But now, the dark web now has a competitor through TikTok’s ‘For You’ page. You’re being served dangerous underground worlds that you don’t expect to openly see on social media.

“There could be hundreds of these videos on TikTok, which direct you to a Telegram page to buy it from. There were more than 10,000 people in just one group I found.

“As well as counterfeit money, people were offering prescription medication, illegal recreational drugs and even drug-based edibles.”

TikTok videos advertising the were discreet and didn’t bear captions with words like ‘counterfeit money’ or other terms, which may have helped them fly under the radar.

Instead, the footage shows wads of cash with words like “top quality” and “1 to 1 details”, meaning they are indistinguishable from the real deals.

On Telegram, the seller claimed they were “A++ grade” and even suggested where to use them including “ATM & self-service, shops big ‘n wholesale, ciggie machines and taxis.”

The dealer, whose group had a whopping 10,200 UK members, claimed to have been flogging fake cash for three years, insisting his notes were “the best on the market”.

Professing to have been “born in London into an average family”, he said he got involved in the “underworld” to support his mum after his father passed away when he was 16.

He claimed to have honed his skills creating phoney Euros in a Netherlands operation that shifted a million notes every month and shipped them all across Europe.

One buyer purchased a £120 Jean Paul Gautier aftershave with the fake cash Credit: Tullen Productions / DOCO Documentaries A second bought a brand new iPhone 17 Pro Max, which could have cost nearly £2,000 Credit: Tullen Productions / DOCO Documentaries

The dodgy dealer insisted his notes passed all basic detection tests like UV pens and scanners with ease.

When probed by Sam, from Liverpool, about whether it was a scam, he was directed to a Telegram channel with hundreds of testimonials and photos praising the seller.

“Can’t believe this, honestly feels like a dream now,” wrote one buyer, sharing a photo of a gold Jean Paul Gautier aftershave bottle, which he bought with dodgy notes.

Another shared a snap of a new Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, which he purchased with up to £1,999 of dodgy cash, and wrote: “F*** it, I will buy it now.”

Other photos included wads of the fake money, with one user writing “fire bro”, and places where the wads, stuffed inside big black envelopes had been delivered – they included customers’ unlocked cars, bushes and even through the letter box of their homes.

Sam suspects the operation is a “highly organised ” due the seller telling him her had couriers everywhere in the UK and could deliver the notes within hours.

One man, in his late 20s, told Sam he purchased £30,000 worth of dodgy notes from the channel and was going to buy another £5,000 – meaning in total, he could have spent up to £3,000 on fake cash.

He boasted “everything’s bang on, realness” when asked about the quality and said he had used it in self-checkout machines and on slot machines, all without problems.

Claiming he got into it due to help with a “big gambling debt”, he had no thought or remorse for companies being defrauded of cash that could potentially put them out of business.

When asked if it should be on TikTok, he added: “If you’re gonna buy it, you’re gonna buy it.

The secret Telegram channel that sells the fake case has more than 10,200 UK members Credit: Tullen Productions / DOCO Documentaries Inside they flog £10,000 of fake cash for £500 Credit: Tullen Productions / DOCO Documentaries

“These sellers are just trying to advertise their business like everybody else, why shouldn’t they do it on social media? Everybody else does it.”

Sam was blown away by his response, telling us: “It was a strange thing to hear his lack of concern.

“Counterfeit money didn’t shock me, but how openly it was being promoted on social media did.

“All you have to do is click on a TikTok link and you end up in this dark world. Teenagers, or even children, could very easily end up buying them.

“TikTok needs to regulate a lot more. They need more humans to review content so that it doesn’t slip through due to being so discrete.

“Criminal gangs are becoming more and more clever, they understand how to play social media.

“They are adapting their approach to remain on the platforms allowing them to continue selling counterfeit money, drugs and prescription medication.”

The Bank of England estimated 0.0041 of banknotes in circulation were counterfeit last year, accounting for 200,000 notes worth £3.97million.

That number of dodgy notes is more than double the 99,000 discovered last year, which were worth £2million.

John Evans, 27, of Kent, masterminded a £12million counterfeit cash operation Credit: Kent Police Around £5m of fake banknotes were discovered by a dog walker in Belvedere, London Credit: SWNS

While it appears a high figure, it’s considerably lower than the biggest spike in counterfeit cash back in 2012 when 747,000 notes worth £12million were discovered.

But concern remains about the dodgy money infiltrating the system and defrauding innocent members of the public and businesses out of cash they need to stay afloat.

In the past few months, police forces in Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Scotland have all issued warnings to businesses about a spike in the trade and numerous arrests have been made.

Back in January, a 42-year-old man in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, was arrested with £100,000 of fake notes in a suitcase and accused of flogging the notes on eBay.

The following month two men in Derby were arrested with large stashes counterfeits and a third was nabbed, after allegedly selling it online.

In Liverpool the issue of fake notes was described as “an epidemic.”

Shopkeeper Perpetina Lourdusamy, 56, complained the dodgy notes “wipe out our profits” and the issue has “gotten worse recently”.

Evans’ operation was printing fake cash at an industrial scale Credit: SWNS More than £1.6million of the counterfeit money was in circulation by the time it was discovered Credit: SWNS

Similarly in Boston, Lincolnshire, bowling alley owner Fiona Watts said finding £200 of fake notes was like “a slap in the face” that blighted her already struggling business.

The trade is typically by organised crime gangs, and the money they earn is reinvested into serious crimes ranging from violent offences to drug dealing and people trafficking.

Back in 2022, four men were jailed for Britain’s biggest ever fake cash printing operation after planning to flood the nation with £12million of dodgy notes.

By the time cops cottoned onto the con, after being alerted by the Bank of England, more than £1.6million was already in circulation and other huge stashes were discovered.

Kent Police found a £5.25million stash alongside a high-quality printer used to produce the notes in an industrial unit, in Beckenham, south east London.

A further £5million was discovered dumped by the side of a road by a dog walker in Belvedere, London, and £200,940 more scattered alongside a railway line in Farningham, Kent.

Ringleader John Evans, 27, alongside crooks Phillip Brown, 54, Nick Winter, 58, and Andrew Ainsworth, 61, were collectively sentenced to a total of 28 years and five months for the plot.

The National Crime Agency explained that counterfeit cash operations are run by “serious and organised criminals” and sting “innocent people across the UK going about their day to day business”.

A man in Worcestershire man was arrested with more than £100,000 of fake notes Credit: West Mercia Police One counterfeit currency peddler holding a fake bank note up to a UV light to show it can’t be detected as a dupe Credit: Tullen Productions / DOCO Documentaries

With counterfeit money now being showcased on TikTok, it’s feared more people – young and old – may be lured into buying it and dismiss the serious consequences if they are caught.

Possessing, using or producing counterfeit money carries up to 10 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine and asset confiscation.

Sam shares a simple message: “Do not buy, possess or use counterfeit currency from social media, it’s highly illegal and shouldn’t be done.

“The videos need to be banned immediately and more needs to be done to stop them from appearing on platforms like TikTok.”

Since being contacted by The Sun and the documentary team, TikTok has banned all accounts linked to the criminality. They did not respond on the record.

TikTok’s community guidelines forbid attempts to scam, trick or defraud people, including through the trade of fake currency. In the first quarter of 2026, they removed 16 million accounts for breaching their overall policies.

Telegram did not respond to The Sun’s request for comment.

Filmmaker Sam Tullen and DOCO documentaries new film I Investigated TikTok’s Black Market for the series Disclosed airs on YouTube this Friday.