Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.
At first glance, it can often be hard to tell the difference between real money and illegal counterfeit bank notes.
Often times, the fake money has duplicate designs with similar paper quality and texture – but a closer look will allow business owners and money-handlers to tell the difference between real funds and illegal prints.
Two counterfeit bills made their way into a Monticello business last week.
The $100 and $20 counterfeits appeared real at first glance, but a closer examination showed several discrepancies between real money and the two counterfeits.
The counterfeits were made of a slightly 'glossy' paper that was not as textured as the cloth paper used to print legal tender. The counterfeits were also a slightly different color, with the fake $100 having the most visible difference, as it looked more blue-tinted than legal money.
The two fake bills are part of the most commonly printed denomination of illegal money, as $100s and $20s are frequently illegally reproduced and then distributed.
It is estimated that over $220 million 'dollars' of fake money is currently circulating around the United States, with smaller businesses that handle cash frequently at greater risk to come across these fake funds.
Counterfeit producers are also increasingly “upping their game” with the aid of technology in order to produce more convincing counterfeits.
So how can you protect your business against counterfeit fraud?
The best way to prevent your business from falling victim to illegal, counterfeit money, experts recommend owners and managers ensure their entire staff – not just the money-handling cashiers – become educated in how to spot the common markers that can be used to identify counterfeit money.
Paper: United States currency is 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton, and contains small red and blue “security fibers” threaded throughout the money's paper. Many times, counterfeit printers will attempt to recreate the blue and red fibers by printing patterns onto the counterfeit paper – so be sure to encourage your staff to look closer and determine whether the fibers are threaded into the note or just printed directly onto the counterfeit.
Watermark: United States' Federal Reserve Notes will have a large watermark located on the note. This watermark is visible from both sides of the note, and will have a shadowy portrait inside the watermark whenever the bill is held up to the light.
Color shifting ink: The most recent design of $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes printed by the United States Federal Reserves after 2004 will have color shifting ink. When the note is tilted back 45-degrees, the note will 'shift' in color from copper to green. This does not apply for $5 notes. $100 notes have a color-shifting bell graphic that is visible inside the inkwell (located near the 3-D security ribbon) when the note is tilted back.
Security thread: All Federal Reserve Notes except $1 bills will have a clear security thread embedded in the note. This thread is clearly visible when held to the light and runs vertically down the note. When held to the light, money-handlers will be able to see that the thread is inscribed with the denomination of the note ($5 notes will have “5” inscribed onto the clear thread). Each thread also glows a different color when held under ultraviolet light.
3-D Security Ribbon: Perhaps one of the best ways to identify an illegal $100 note from a federal $100 note is the blue security ribbon that runs from the top of the bill, almost to the bottom. The blue ribbon is holographic, meaning that when the $100 note is tilted side to side, the bells and '100's printed onto the ribbon will seem to move up and down. No other denomination has this ribbon.
There are many other ways to identify counterfeits from federally printed tender, with various microprinting details, watermarks and numerals printed onto the Federal Reserve Notes in order to differentiate the real from the fake.
In 2016, the United States Secret Service (which was created by President Abraham Lincoln to supress the creation of counterfeit money) has released a spreadsheet and infographic that helps business owners and money-handlers tell the difference between the counterfeits and legal tender. It can be viewed at secretservice.gov/data/ KnowYourMoney.pdf.
For business owners who want an additional layer of assurance when it comes to ensuring that counterfeit money doesn't end up in your register, there are plenty of counterfeit detectors on the market. These detectors can be as complex as UV lights to identify counterfeits, or as simple as pens and markers with ink that is only visible on counterfeit paper.
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