Throughout most of the 20th century, the techniques for counterfeiting U.S. currency remained largely unchanged. Using photographic plates, stencils, and offset printers, counterfeiting required the advanced skill-set of the professional counterfeiter, who over the years would perfect his craft in an attempt to overcome the security features of U.S. currency. Primary among these is the printing method of money itself, the "intaglio" process, where heavy presses force ink deep into the paper, to create the distinctive "raised" feel that is recognizable to anyone who has ever handled a Federal Reserve Note. Offset printing can only imperfectly re-create such an effect but, with care, the result is often good enough to pass.
Many additional security features, from intricate scrolling to the use of both green and black ink to the use of special paper, have typically presented challenges for all but the most determined counterfeiter. Some features of money are especially hard to reproduce, such as the fine red and blue fibers that are embedded in the paper, or specialty ultra-violet or infra-red fluorescent inks that are difficult to work with. Many counterfeiters omit these features altogether. For this reason, the Fraud-Fighter™ line of ultra-violet counterfeit scanners is such an effective method for counterfeit detection.
Traditionally, after producing an acceptable copy, the counterfeiter would repay his efforts by producing large quantities of the counterfeit note, then face the difficult task of circulating them, normally leaving a trail both forward to his colleagues who received the counterfeits in bulk, and backward to the supplier of the special inks and paper. The difficulty of hiding such large-scale activities regularly led to tips gathered by law enforcement, whose historical success in seizing fake money prior to its circulation has been exemplary.
Today, counterfeiting requires a much smaller initial investment and, consequently, a smaller amount of product to make it profitable. A good color scanner, computer, and laser-jet printer, capable of producing passable-quality color copies, can be had for about $1,000.
This lower threshold not only allows someone to print counterfeit money secretly at home, but also frees them from the need to rely on others to launder large amounts of counterfeit bills. Thus, even though digitally reproduced counterfeits tend to be slightly lower in quality than offset notes, they are less likely to be seized and more likely to be passed into circulation. According the Counterfeit Division of the Secret Service, there has been a recent proliferation in digital counterfeiting by street gangs and links with the drug trade.
The cumulative result has been an explosion in the number of counterfeiting operations, each producing a relatively small quantity of fake money, good enough to be passed at retail outlets. No longer able to rely on the seizure of large blocks of cash, the Secret Service has seen its domestic seizure rate fall steadily, from 70 percent in 1995, to 26 percent today. Accordingly, a growing number of counterfeits are being passed on to the public.
Today, counterfeiting requires a much smaller initial investment and, consequently, a smaller amount of product to make it profitable. A good color scanner, computer, and laser-jet printer, capable of producing passable-quality color copies, can be had for about $1,000.
This lower threshold not only allows someone to print counterfeit money secretly at home, but also frees them from the need to rely on others to launder large amounts of counterfeit bills. Thus, even though digitally reproduced counterfeits tend to be slightly lower in quality than offset notes, they are less likely to be seized and more likely to be passed into circulation. According the Counterfeit Division of the Secret Service, there has been a recent proliferation in digital counterfeiting by street gangs and links with the drug trade.
The cumulative result has been an explosion in the number of counterfeiting operations, each producing a relatively small quantity of fake money, good enough to be passed at retail outlets. No longer able to rely on the seizure of large blocks of cash, the Secret Service has seen its domestic seizure rate fall steadily, from 70 percent in 1995, to 26 percent today. Accordingly, a growing number of counterfeits are being passed on to the public.
At the higher end of the quality spectrum are some of the counterfeits made overseas. Foreign counterfeits - which are still predominantly made using offset printing methods and account for over 80 percent of all offset notes - have represented the majority of the total volume of counterfeit U.S. currency produced in four of the last five years. With two-thirds of the total U.S. currency supply held overseas, the $100 bill is more common abroad than it is in the United States. Perhaps for this reason, the most commonly counterfeited bill outside the United States is the $100 (domestically it is the $20).
Some of the best counterfeits come from Colombia, which itself accounts for 80 percent of all foreign counterfeits. To avoid the problem of detection by feel, "Colombian notes" are printed on bleached $1 bills that are then converted into $100s. The quality of these bills is extraordinarily high, and they are virtually undetectable by the average citizen. Smuggled into the United States, the Secret Service estimates that up to one-third of all counterfeit money in circulation domestically is Colombian in origin.
The best-quality foreign counterfeits, however, are those that are produced using intaglio methods, on the identical presses used by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Given the expense of such presses, and their availability only from a single manufacturer in Switzerland , the Secret Service suspects foreign government involvement, by such countries as Iran or Syria , in the production of these "superbills." Fortunately, the "pass rate" for counterfeit U.S. currency overseas is extremely low, as a result of its detection and seizure in large quantities before it goes into circulation. Still, even the Secret Service acknowledges that there may be radical underreporting of counterfeit U.S. currency being passed, given the diverse practices of law enforcement agencies and banks abroad. One encouraging facet of foreign counterfeiting, however, is that so far the number of foreign digitally produced notes has been miniscule, as computer technology has not yet penetrated as far as it has in U.S. markets.
TO CATCH A THIEF
The best way to stop counterfeiters, of course, is to deter them before they have the chance to pass the bills to retail establishments. Anticipating the growing threat from desktop counterfeiting, U.S. currency was redesigned in 1996. On the redesigned bills (called "big-heads" by professional currency handlers), several new features make it more difficult to copy and easier to verify: most notably, a larger off-center portrait, the watermark portrait on the front and back of the bill, a security thread in the fiber of the bill which glows under UV light, additional microprinting, and color-shifting ink in the lower right-hand corner. Nonetheless, it was only a matter of months before the new bills started to be counterfeited, including many of the new security features. Yet, the redesign appears at least to have raised the bar, and the ultra-violet test has proven to be highly effective.