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 Replies: 19 / Views: 3,087 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1116 Posts |
I just watched a news item on TV about counterfeit money (funny money) and learned an easy way to spot this. According to the Secret Service special agent the numbers on the bills with numbers are printed with something that is called Optically Reflective paint that is supposed to change colors when the bills are are tilted to the viewers eyes. So if the bills area don't change colors don't take the money ask for another bill or get rid of it fast. According to this spokement the last person to have the bill will lose the money. He said that in my area alone they find $30,000 in funny money a week. According to the segment a couple cashed their social security check at a Wal-mart store and then tried to get a check at an Amscot check cashing store and the took the money from them and sent it to the Secret Service. The forum recently had a member who lost a $100 bill this way at his bank. Apparantly this can happen anywhere and if it happens to you, you will loose. The Secret Service agent made a specific point of saying that it is the last person to possess the funny bill that loses. I had no idea the extent of counterfiet money had on our economy. $30,000 a week in the Tampa Bay area is a lot of money. If the Secret Services stated amount is correct, juct think what it is in Chicago, New York, Miami, or Los Angeles where the population is much highe than where I live. I wouldn't take a bill where the numeric entry did not change colors when tilted to my eyes. It was an eye opener (no pun intended). I mean if a store can refuse to take a suspected counterfiet bill, I would say that we can also. Try this experiment on the money in your pocket. I did and it appeared to work for me. Good luck. *** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. *** |
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Valued Member
United States
381 Posts |
Thanks for the information. I think the problem is more prevalent than most people think.
My Girlfriend helps her Mom and Dad with yard sales a couple of times a year. A couple of weeks ago someone tried to pass a counterfeit $20. Her Mom brought her the $20 to get some change and my GF told her Mom not to take the bill. The lady who tried to pass the $20, took the bill back and quickly got into her car and left. They now use a pen that helps identify counterfeit bills.
These crooks will try to pass them off anywhere because like ghostrider says, the last person to have the bill is out the money.
I would caution anyone about confronting someone with suspected counterfeit bills. According to a Police Officer friend of mine, most of the funny money passed in my area is passed by low level gang members, their Girlfriends, or their wives.
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Valued Member
United States
337 Posts |
I wonder who is creating all this counterfeit cash? Is it created on US soil or somehow imported from overseas locations?
I've heard that many of these are sophisticated fakes which indicated possible foreign government involvement. Did the show cover any of those scenarios?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
Those pens don't always work, though. Some counterfeiters will take a $5, wash it, and turn it into something higher. Look at the watermarks to look for the number that it should read.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
Counterfeits are *everywhere*. I mean *everywhere*. Coin, paper, whatever. Most of it is currently foreign and imported, although there are a number of domestic counterfeiting operations that have been uncovered (one here in Jersey recently, too, but then again we have history with Leroy Henning :-) ) and where most coin fraud is found in cash for gold shops and on ebay to catch collectors and precious metal transactions, most paper currency fraud is from drugs. And this is also why we get the Secret Service called on people who use older, genuine bills, because the pens don't always work. The only way to combat it is education and a keen eye. |
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Valued Member
United States
381 Posts |
Thanks for the info about the pen. I didn't know it will only work on newer bills.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
I wonder who is creating all this counterfeit cash? Is it created on US soil or somehow imported from overseas locations?
Both. People will always try and get free money. Its harder to set up shop in the US so you do see a lot coming from overseas especially China and I think North Korea got their hands on some old dies too and have been pumping out older 100s. South America does it too. Really it comes from everywhere. Youd be shocked at how much money the Secret Service destroyed or takes each year for being fake. Some are real good like the government backed operations and some look like they were made on a printer and probably were after being scanned in. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5855 Posts |
The pens are a bit of a scam. They work by detecting the starch content of the paper and are only effective if the counterfeits are done using low grade paper (like standard copy paper). If the counterfeit is printed on easily available higher quality paper, the pens will not not register it as a fake.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1812 Posts |
Most, if not all Currency Collectors that know the printing process of USA Currency can tell counterfeit notes by touch. I have shown this to numerous people over the years (bank tellers, etc.) that deal in currency and feel the need to ruin a note with one of their ink pens just to see if it's real, and the thought of them using a pen on a error note drives me crazy (a short drive indeed)... All United States Currency is printed on a Intaglio Press. The Intaglio Press holds steel engraved plates, and when ink is applied to the plates and wiped clean, ink remains in the engraved area, and when applied to the sheet of currency, leaves a "RAISED" imprint that is easily felt with the light touch of your fingernail.. Below are some photos I had just taken for this thread (with a cheap camera) that shows the "high" areas of the ink... If you place your thumb on the reverse side of the note, then slide your index fingernail ever-so-light over the lower left side of George Washington, you will actually feel the raised ink... Unless any counterfeit notes are printed with an Intaglio Press (like the USA gave the Shah of Iran back in the mid 70's where they printed counterfeit One Hundred Dollar Notes), there is a 99.999% chance if you don't feel any raised area (even on well circulated notes) the not is not genuine... If you ever have a chance to look at currency under a high power stereo microscope, you would not believe how high the ink looks... I tried to capture the raised ink on the note below...       |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5832 Posts |
There's a TV segment with counterfeiters printing it on an Epson inkjet printer, I think in order to deter the 'Pen' detection method, the counterfeiters used hair spray and that would not cause the ink to smear, and genuine Epson ink cartridge do have higher opacity that sits on top of paper that simulate Intaglio Press.
So going over with your hand will not always work, look for the watermarks and metal strip seal also.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
I have held phony $1 bills that were printed via the intaglio method. In truth, the only way to tell they were fake was due to the fact they all had the same serial number and that the ink was "brittle" on a few of them. :-/
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1812 Posts |
I guess I'm just old school and don't keep up with the latest ways crooks have evolved... The touch method was done long before the security design changes and personal home computers, and the latest counterfeit methods back then were done on the "NEW" Color Business Copy Machines...
Do they still check for "paper wave" on C/U Currency, or have they made that obsolete also?
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
From what I've heard the two hardest things for the fakes to get right are the security strips and the watermarks. They can get strips in but not so thats its part of the paper like the fed does. That process is probably the most tightly controlled information in the whole process. Honestly is the fakers were really smart theyd just stick to $1 bills. They draw little attention and itd be quite sometime before anyone figured it out but theyre greedy and always want the quick score
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5832 Posts |
All modern day color copiers have some sort of security devices that shuts down if anyone tries to copy US currency.
I was told from vendors not to copy/scan any legal US currency, as this will lock the copiers and in order to reactivate it again, a US security department personnel need to come into place with the technician. In the process, the operators/workers will be question to why he/she is making a copy of US dollar bills.
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Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2295 Posts |
Very interesting thread and nice photos. Thanks for sharing.
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Replies: 19 / Views: 3,087 |
Posted 09/29/2012 2:50 pm
