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Is it real or fake? How to identify counterfeit money.
The United States Department of Treasury reveals that of the fake notes in circulation, about seventy million dollar bills are in circulation. And it has been getting harder and harder each day for one to be able to differentiate as to which is the original or the fake one.
Any person, not only the banks should be able to recognize counterfeit money because anyone who attempts to pass counterfeit currency to pay for goods or services, the Federal government and the local State governments have the right to have one impose a penalty, which is imprisonment for twenty years besides being penalty at the same time. A lawyer from Wisconsin describes it as a developing trend and people should be wary of it.
How can you tell if money is fake?
It is satisfactory to know that all the banks have standard measures of security to protect them against fake money. But what about you? Can you tell the difference between the actual money and the counterfeit money? Here are pieces of advice from a police chief from Wisconsin:
Check for color-shifting ink.
Take the bill, and making sure that it is exposed to light, swirl it around in your hands. If you see it from the angle of color change, any genuine $5 bills or higher, printed from the year 1996 should accordingly transform green to copper or the other way round.
Check for raised printing.
Run your fingers over the bill with the tip of your ring finger along the edge of it, and do it with vigor over the logo or where the shoulder and face of an image is located and where the regular face of the bill is. You should touch the bill’s surface and observe that you get to have different feelings of ridges if the money is fake.
Look closely for blurry borders, printing, or text.
Check around the perimeters of the bill and at any fine print. An authentic bill has minute prints, thus when one tries to look at the bill through a magnifying glass, the print is clear and the micro-test on the bill is visible.
Look for red and blue threads in the bill.
The fake bills contain scattered thin and thin lines, and there will be faint red and blue threads running through the whole bodice of the bill. If you do not see such insertions, then it may indicate that the bill is fake.
Check the watermark.
Hold the bill up to the light and look for a watermark. Newer bills should have faces. Older bills may just have what looks like a faded spot. If there is no watermark or if the watermark “face” does not match the “face” on the bill, then it is probably counterfeit.
Check for the security thread.
Tilt the bill to the light to ensure that there is a security thread which is either on the right or left of the image and covering from top to bottom of the bill. The text should fit the bill’s denomination; this means for a large bill, the text to be put on it should be large as well. For added security, place it under the black light ensuring that the strip gives out the right color of the money’s denomination.
Check new $ 100s for security ribbon.
This security feature is on the reverse only on the newly designed $100 notes. It is 3-D strip that start from the top to the bottom should have bells on it which look like they swaying from left to right when you tilt the bill to the left and right.
The two principal organizations that are involved in the fighting of fake currency are the Federal Government agency named United States Secret Service and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. To assist the Service in combating or recognizing fake money, a “Know Your Money” communication is available and shows graphic depictions of the distinctiveness of a bill. Oh it’s only three pages; why don’t you take a look at it.
Two more videos that can be used to assist you know what is fake are:
What to do if you think you received a counterfeit bill?
Jot down some notes on who gave you the bill.
It is useful to take note of a general description as to who handed you the bill and the manner in which they did it. If it was a personal one-on-one transaction (IE: if describing the mode of the meeting (e. g. social media marketplace, garage sale purchase) attempt to include vehicle information and what you recall concerning the company of the individual.
Handle the bill as little as possible and put it in a marked envelope.
At other times there may be residue, whereby one may find fingerprints or DNA that may be useful in linking the bill to just a particular counterfeiter. Touch it as far and as few times as you can.
Confirm it is fake.
Go to an institution that deals with finances or the local police station to have the bill assessed.
