It’s possible to tell if a person has given you fake money by taking a look at the physical qualities of the invoice, such as ink, colours, and text, or simply by conducting the invoice under a unique scanner or lamp made to detect counterfeit money.
An estimated $147 million worth of counterfeit money is currently circulating in the US. In this guide, we’ll help small business owners equip yourself with all the knowledge required to detect these fake invoices and save thousands of dollars.
Now let us take a look at how to detect counterfeit money.
How to Detect Counterfeit Money
Counterfeiters can occasionally duplicate a couple of security features, but rarely all them. Consequently, if you assess these 8 attributes on a charge, you should be able to rapidly spot a fake. We are going to use a $20 in most of our examples, since that is the most counterfeited denomination.
Here are 8 ways to detect counterfeit bills:
1. Color shifting Ink
Among the first things to look for when checking to see whether or not a bill would be authentic is to see whether the invoice denomination at the bottom right hand corner has the right color shifting ink. All denominations of $5 or even more have this security feature, going back to 1996.
Take this $20 for instance, the 20 at the bottom right hand corner will have a copper color whenever you are looking straight at it. However if you rotate the top of the invoice down so the bill looks flatter for your eye, then it will turn more of a greenish shade. See example graphics below. The left picture by a more upper perspective is obviously more of a copper color. But, when it is changed to a flatter plane such as the invoice on the proper, the denomination is a lot greener.
On the new $100 bills, the inkwell also has color shifting ink, turning green and becoming extra visible when shifted to a flatter visual plane (example reveals both copper color and green).
2. Enriched Printing
All authentic US reserve notes have raised printing. You can see the difference in in depth on the picture to the right when it’s magnified. Many times, counterfeiters have a tough time replicating this type of printing approach.
To discover raised printing, take your fingernail and operate it carefully down the collar/jacket. You ought to feel an unsmooth feel and some vibration in your own nail against the ridges. If not, then you do a comprehensive check on the bill.
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3. Blurry Borders, Printing, or Text
If you notice significantly blurry boundaries, printing, or text, it is an automatic red flag. Authentic bills are extremely detailed, made with die-cut printing plates which are capable of producing incredibly fine lines. Printers are rarely capable of the exact same amount of detail. Take a close look, particularly at the boundaries, to see if there are some blurry components from the invoice.
Another thing to be seeing, is micro-printing. Authentic bills have super fine text located at different places on the invoice, as revealed on the left. Many times, counterfeiters do not have sophisticated enough printing equipment to replicate micro-printing finely enough to where it is actually readable. If you get a magnifying glass or place the bills under some other sort of magnification, you can normally tell pretty quickly whether or not the micro-printing is authentic. When it is unreadable, then it is probably counterfeit.
4. Red and Blue Threads
If you take a good look at an authentic bill (as seen on the right), you will see that there are small blue and red threads woven in and out over the fabric of this invoice. Printers try to replicate this result by printing blue and red threads onto the bill in an identical pattern. But, a close look will often show that such printing is only surface , tipping you off to some counterfeit.
5. Watermark
The next security feature to search for, is the attribute watermark. In many of the new debts, that the watermark is actually a replica of the face on the invoice. In some, it is only an oval spot.
There are lots of things to keep in mind when examining a watermark.
- The watermark should just be visible when you hold it up into the light
- The watermark must be on the right side of this bill
- If it is a face, the watermark face ought to exactly match the face on the bill (Sometimes counterfeiters use lower bills and just reprint, in which case the face would not fit )
- If there’s not any watermark or the watermark is visible without being held up to the light, the invoice is probably a counterfeit
6. Security Thread
The security thread is one of the most distinctive security indicators of an accurate bill.
If you hold any bill up to the light, you will realize a safety strip onto an authentic charge. It’ll have”USA” and the Bill’s denomination, aka”USA 20″ running vertically on the bill.
The ultimate test is to put the bill under a UV or black light and be certain that the bill glows the suitable color. This extra security measure was initially inserted to provide a quick method for pub owners (one of the businesses most commonly targeted to get rid of counterfeit bills) to confirm the legitimacy of a bill.
Here are the place and colors of the security threads on different invoices:
- $5 — Right side. Glows blue under UV light
- $10 — Right side. Glows orange under UV light
- $20 — Much left hand . Glows green under UV light
- $50 — Right around the middle. Glows yellow Under UV light
- $100 — On left side. Glows pink under UV light
7. Security Ribbon (On brand new $100 only)
The newly printed $100 comes with an extra security feature. There is a visible blue protection ribbon down the ideal middle of this invoice that is 3D. Should you move it back and forth, you will actually see the amount 100 and a variety of small bells will move from side-to-side since the bill changes.
8. Serial Numbers should correspond to Printing Year/Series
The last point to check on a bill, will be to be certain the serial number matches the supposed series/run year published on the invoice. Each letter which starts a serial number for a bill corresponds to a particular year (correspondence annually correspondence comprehensive below).
Just be sure to check and make sure that the series year stated is a correct match with the letter which starts the serial number, and vice versa (shown previously ).
Here are the letters and the corresponding years/runs they should fit with.
-
- E = 2004
- G = 2004A
- I = 2006
- J = 2009
- L = 2009A
4 Added Ways to Protect Your Company From Counterfeit Money
Despite the fact that you’ve heard the basics of detecting fake invoices, we suggest that you take additional steps to protect yourself by taking these steps to supply as much protection as you can for your industry.
1. Hold your workers liable.
You can reduce retail theft using a POS that offers cash drawer administration. Together with Square, you can set up different cash drawers for each employee, permitting you to understand precisely what denominations come and go during a cashier’s shift. Integrated money drawer reports can enable you to identify who is not checking for fake bills. Square also has balancing measures set up to make certain that all money is accounted for in the conclusion of each cash drawer session. On top of that, Square is free. Click here to sign up for Square.
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2. Insure your company against fake money.
In instances of accepting fake monies, you are able to make claims from any company losses by submitting them with your insurance provider. Most business insurance policies ought to be able to defend you from getting fake money nonetheless, it’s advisable to check with your broker on the coverage of your plan and up to how much they could cover in the event that this occurs.
3. Educate your employees to inspect every transaction.
Train your workers to be cautious and meticulous about each transaction by educating them about counterfeit money detection. Remind them to prevent profiling customers and treating everybody seriously — individuals are using intelligent tactics like making old ladies, students or well-dressed businessmen do these fraudulent transactions so it does not look obvious and suspicious.
4. If at all possible, large payments must be deposited directly to the bank or paid via credit cards.
As much as you can, try to market cashless transactions in your institution to lessen the risks of accepting fake money. If that is not possible, use easy and dependable counterfeit detecting tools on your business which we’ll discuss in the next section of the report.
Counterfeit Detection Tools
Education is the major defense against counterfeit bills. However, in addition, there are an assortment of products available to help you with the counterfeit detection process such as the ones below.
Spoiler Alert: Counterfeit pens are undependable! Each of the pencil does is check for chemicals common in some of the more poorly done counterfeit bills. But, with the development of digital printing and counterfeiters especially treating their invoices so they will not respond to the pen test, you can no longer rely on the counterfeit pen to shield your retail business.
1. Watermark Lamps ($50-$80)
This tool backlights the bill to disclose the unobtrusive and hidden security features of an authentic bill. However, the person using this tool has to be knowledgeable about the security features to be able to recognize any irregularities at a bill.
2. Ultraviolet Lamps ($40-$60)
When held up against the lamp’s UV light, the identifying security thread of different bills that we detailed in item #6 above will likely become a lot more visible and visible.
3. Magnetic Ink Scanners ($30-$50)
All these are simple scanners that detect fake or real ink on bills.
4. Multi-test Scanners ($180-$260)
Here is the most innovative and effective counterfeiting test machine as it sets bills into multiple evaluations — a combination of the purposes of the tools mentioned previously. It is extremely difficult for a fake bill to make it through this machine. The only disadvantage is the expensive price tag.
*Photos from ITestCash and Cassida
Things To Do If You Find a Counterfeit Bill
Let’s say you find a counterfeit bill, what do you do next? Here are a number of actions to follow to make sure that you are processing the invoice and alerting the correct authorities.
1. Jot down a few notes on who gave you the invoice
The authorities will be sure to want as much information as possible and the more willing you’re, the more info the authorities will have to help in their search. Jot down things like height, weight, eye color, hair color, and any distinctive capabilities. A license plate number is great, even though that is often not possible.
2. Handle the bill as small as possible and put it in a marked envelope
Sometimes, there may be remnants of fingerprints, DNA, or perhaps even specific processing chemicals which may help the police tie a invoice to a specific counterfeiter. Handle it as little as possible and different the bill in the other cash by placing it in a marked envelope at the register that you could quickly get afterwards.
3. Fill Out The Secret Service Counterfeit Note Report Form
If you detect or receive bogus bills, file an official report by filling out this form from the US Secret Service that requires somebody to detail a suspected fraudulent transaction between counterfeit cash and hand it to the local authorities.
4. Contact Your Regional Authorities
After completing the form or simply reporting a suspected fake trade, the previous step, would be to contact the local law enforcement authorities. Only get in-touch together with the police channel. They’ll have the ability to offer you additional instructions and contact other authorities as required (normally the Secret Service).
To Sum It Up
The ideal answer to fighting money counterfeiting is education. When there are tools to help businesses detect fake cash, they do not mean anything if there’s a lack of knowledge in spotting them in the first location.
If you educate yourself and your employees on what an authentic bill should look like and the security features it must have, you will be well on your approach to detecting counterfeit bills and protecting your company from unnecessary gain loss.
