How is counterfeit money created

Feature article about Albert Talton at Details. On closer inspection one can see the cyan ink in the seal. The irregularity of straight lines and other details is apparent in the border around the bill. The magenta ink is also visible in the vignette of Independence Hall see enlargements.

Counterfeit money is often on the move, at times in large quantities. Often notes are bundled up and put into toys or books and thus disguised as regular merchandise. In a case from Italy, counterfeit money was put into milk crates. The photos from such seizures illustrate some of the types of packaging.

This map illustrates how counterfeit money from Colombia moves to various countries. The routes coincide with other illegal operations such as drug trafficking or arms smuggling, primarily in countries where the US dollar dominates the economy. In Colombia, the various drug cartels produce counterfeit money that has surfaced in Mexico, the US, and parts of Europe.

The United States Secret Service is committed to a policy of zero tolerance and investigates each and every counterfeiting case. Manufacturing counterfeit currency is a violation of Title 18, Section of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both.

Printed reproductions, including photographs of paper currency, are violations of Title 18, Section of the United States Code. Violations of this code are also punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both. Look at the money you receive. Compare a suspect bill with a genuine bill of the same denomination, paying attention to the quality of printing and paper characteristics.

Look for differences, not similarities. Portrait: The portrait has been enlarged and moved slightly off center to allow for the addition of a watermark. The portraits have also been redesigned to provide more lifelike detail. Vending machines, for one, are sensitive to these magnetic inks and use them to detect counterfeits.

The treasury is also scanning bills regularly to detect counterfeits. According to an article from Wired Magazine , titled "Junior Mints":. As the counterfeit bills get used in vending machines and rejected, or as they make their way into banks, where human tellers can feel the difference, or when they get into the hands of an attentive convenience store worker who rejects them, or when they make their way back to the scanning machines at the U.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing, they are detected. Once they are detected, that alerts authorities to a counterfeiting problem in a certain area of the country. Heightened vigilance, along with news stories and public service announcements, helps to make detection easier.

And eventually the counterfeiter gets caught. With teenagers who are casually counterfeiting, capture is often instantaneous. Teenagers usually make very stupid mistakes when they create counterfeit bills:. Counterfeiting is not a minor offense. It is not like running a red light, or even shoplifting.

These crimes are misdemeanors handled at the local level by local police and courts. Counterfeiting, on the other hand, is a federal felony handled by the U. Secret Service. In fact, the entire reason the Secret Service was originally created was to handle counterfeiters. Only later did it take on the role of additionally protecting the president and other key government officials. The reason why counterfeiting is treated as such a serious crime is because money is so important to our society.

Money is the oxygen of the economy. If people cannot trust that the money they carry is authentic, then it gets much harder to buy things and the economy slows down. When you get caught counterfeiting -- and if you are counterfeiting you will get caught eventually -- the punishment can be unbelievably harsh. According to this article from Wired Magazine , entitled "Junior Mints":.

Authorities will also seize any property used to create or pass the bills. That means your computer, printer and scanner will be confiscated.

You will also have to pay restitution and probably a number of fines, too. In other words, the picture is pretty clear. When you create counterfeit bills, you will get caught. There are a ton of people out there looking for fake bills because they don't want to get ripped off.

When you get caught, the penalties will be severe, and it's likely you will end up spending some time in jail. You will have a federal felony arrest on your record, making it very hard to get a job. In other words, you can't get something for nothing, at least not if you are trying to do it by counterfeiting. Although it is easy to print your own money, it never works when you try spending it.

Whether you are a normal person taking your change at a store, or you are a merchant accepting cash in your business, you need to be aware of the counterfeiting problem.

As you have seen, it is easy for teenagers to print counterfeit bills, and there are more sophisticated counterfeiters who are actually bleaching out authentic bills and printing fake bills onto the bleached paper.

If you use the new security features, it is very easy to detect counterfeit bills. For more information about counterfeiting and related topics, check out the links on the following page. Sign up for our Newsletter!

Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. How Counterfeiting Works. Counterfeiting is one of the most common scams around. If the watermark is a face, it should exactly match the face on the bill. Blurry borders, printing, or text: These are automatic red flags for counterfeit bills. Authentic bills are made using die-cut printing plates that create impressively fine lines, so they look extremely detailed.

Counterfeit printers are usually incapable of the same level of detail. All authentic dollar bills have raised printing, which is difficult for counterfeiters to reproduce. To detect raised printing, run your fingernail carefully down the note. You should feel some vibration on your nail from the ridges of the raised printing. Fine line printing patterns: Very fine lines have been added behind the portrait and on the reverse side scene to make it harder to reproduce.

Red and blue threads: If you take a close look at an authentic banknote, you can see that there are very small red and blue threads woven into the fabric of the bill. Although counterfeit printers try to replicate this effect by printing a pattern of red and blue threads onto counterfeit bills, if you can see that this printing is merely surface level, then it is likely the bill is counterfeit. Comparison: Compare the feel and texture of the paper with other bills you know are authentic.

Serial Numbers: The last thing to check on a bill is the serial number. Below is the list of letter-to-year correspondence:. These security measures were designed not just to deter criminals from attempting to counterfeit money, but to help people and businesses recognize counterfeit money when they see it.

If you see even one error that could mean a bill is counterfeit, you should report it to the U. Currency Education Program to protect yourself from being held liable for any losses and to inform the Federal Reserve about counterfeit bills in circulation.