More Counterfeit Info

All right- since I've gotten requests to share what I've learned- how 'bout a little Did You Know about counterfeit currency?

I knew that each denomination except for the $1 and $2 have a security strip in them that is in a specific location for each denomination, but did you know that each bill's strip glows a different color under a black light? I didn't!

90% of all counterfeit currency is simply run off on a copier. There's an easy way to check these bills- put some water on them. The ink will run and the paper will melt. Got to see this one in action- really cool!

The city I live in has about 200000 people in it, and about $3000 to $5000 in counterfeit currency is confiscated every month! There's more out there than you might think!

There's a guy running a major operation right here in Indiana who is doing the same thing ND described in the other thread. He's washing $1's and reprinting them (using basically the same printing press that newspapers are done on) as $100's. These bills are so good it's scary. The main things that give them away is that the watermark is the wrong color, the security strip isn't right, and the paper feels a little too stiff. The bills are coming in from South America, which is a major source of those 10% of bills that aren't just copier paper. He's somehow getting them up here and passing them off all over the state.

Iraqi currency is the same paper composition as US currency, and someone out there is washing those bills and reprinting them as $100's. When you go to check the watermark on these bills, instead of Franklin, there's a horse! We also saw a $100 with Ben sticking his tongue out on the watermark.

Don't rely on those counterfeit dectecting pens to tell you if a bill is legit. I always cringe when I see a cashier using one of those. If the bill is too old (pre-1963) the paper composition won't react the right way with the pen. Also if the bill has any grease on it the pen won't work. The pens are basically iodine, and they react with the starch in the paper. Those washed $100's I saw- every one of them had a mark from those pens that showed they were real.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it here. If anyone has any questions about fake bills, ask away! I'll see if I can help!

Rachel [:p]