Digital imaging changes face of counterfeit bills

Found on USA Today on Wednesday, 17 August 2005
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Unfortunately, small mom-and-pop businesses such as the Amen Gift Shop are the most frequent targets of counterfeiters, says Dale Pupillo, deputy special agent in charge of the Secret Service's criminal investigative division.

With inkjet printers or tabletop color copiers, anyone can make counterfeit cash quickly in his or her home, Pupillo says.

High school students in North Carolina are making fake cash for their lunch money. Petty criminals in Lubbock, Texas, allegedly hope to exchange fake money quickly for real currency.

"They're not interested in color-shifting ink or watermarks or the red and blue fibers (in legitimate money)," he says, referring to concerns of counterfeiters of the past. "They just want something that looks like a $20 bill." Most of the time, that's enough to sneak the fake bills past unsuspecting clerks at small shops, convenience stores or fast-food restaurants.

Well that certainly isn't something new. When scanners and color printers hit the shelves, this probably was one of the first ideas. However, you should be careful about the tools you use: Photoshop has an implemented currency detection and won't let you work with scans of money. Some manufacturers admitted that their laser printers or color copiers add their serial and manufacturing code on every document, what allows officials to track them back. While it might help to catch some clueless counterfeiters, this censorship and tracking is quite questionable.