Title: Modern Counterfeit Methods.

First and foremost, the main secret. Then we will see how it is implemented.

Bills must pass the counterfeit detection pen. If it does, merchants will take it, even though they somehow question its validity. How do they do that?

Well, it is a real bill. They erase the ink on small bills and print larger bills on that paper. The paper is real. That is what the pen checks, the paper, not the printing.

Before you run to the bank for a hundred one dollar bills, let me explain something. Ones are a lot harder to clean than fives are. For that reason, they usually clean Fives and print larger denominations on them. Which series of Fives are important also, but they will all clean.

It is best to erase the background and only print the black and green ink. Imaging programs such as Adobe Photoshop easily do this. Photoshop 7 and earlier would edit a bank note. The current version of Photoshop, CS4, refuses. Use Gimp, and open source image editor you can down load for free. It is nearly as good. If you can find a copy of Photoshop 7, or 6, which should be cheap now, get it. It WILL get the job done. Just tell it to erase everything that is not black or green. This prevents ghosting on your prints.

It is hard getting the ink off of these bills. Easy Off, an oven cleaner is the only product modern counterfieters use to clean bills. Now it takes practice to coax the ink off a bill, but, if you practice, you will get it. Spray it on liberally, and let it set. Then, with a tuthbrush, swish it off. Patience is important, or you will fade the bill.

This is how you do it in Photoshop. Open Photoshop. Scan in the image of the bill via import image in the file menu. Then use the color picker selection in the options on the right. It looks like an eye dropper. Move it over the background color and click. That selects that color, in this case the background color that was scanned in. then erase that color to transparency. You will be left with the black and green images.

A note on resolution. 1200 bpi is best, but even the most modern computer equipment still cannot really handle files this large. 600 bpi is the best option. This keeps your resolution to an acceptable standard. Ensure scanning, editing, and print settings are set to 600 bpi. This is important!

Once your have your plate, you can save it and print it on your paper. A border less photo printer is the best, but other printers can be used. You have to be creative in how you feed it the paper, however. If you are really interested in learning how this is done, it will take a little investment in time and equipment if your do not have it. If you already know image editing and have good equipment you are off and running. Photoshop (or Gimp), can be used to change the serial numbers. Use the square dotted select tool to select a number, then copy and paste it.

As a last resort, images can be printed on resume rag paper, which is a close substitute, and works well when you are in dark, crowded, frantic, places like bars. I would imagine they have a real backup in another pocket. The world is flooded with counterfeit bills. No one will think anything of someone having one if they had their game together. You just got if somewhere. They understand that.

These pre 1996 bills are by far the easiest. Find some or buy some from a coin collector. They are still out there. But, they are old, so you have to age them. Make them look old. Stomp on them in the dirt.

Now, on to the bills printed in 1996.

This is the site to learn about the security measures in US bills.

Now lets examine bills printed after 1996. Then we will see how they are counterfeited.

The Series 1996, 1999, 2001, and 2003 notes incorporate new features designed to improve the security of our currency. The $5 and $10 notes were first introduced in May 2000 as Series 1999 notes. The $20 note was first introduced in the fall of 1998 as a Series 1996 note. The $50 note was first introduced in October 1997 as a Series 1996 note, and the $100 note was first introduced in March 1996 as a Series 1996 note. There will be no recall or devaluation of U.S. currency already in circulation; the United States always honors its currency at full face value, no matter how old.

The Series 1999 $5 and $10 notes incorporated the same design theme as the higher denomination Series 1996 notes, but were designated as Series 1999 because of the appointment of a new Treasury Secretary (Lawrence Summers) in 1999. This was followed by the appointment of Treasury Secretary (Paul O'Neill) in 2001, which resulted in the issuance of the Series 2001 currency. The most recent series change occurred in 2003, with the appointment of John Snow as the Secretary of the Treasury. Currency notes bearing both his signature, and that of U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin are Series 2003 notes.

The issuance of the Series 1996 $20 note had special importance because the $20 note is the most widely used note in the United States. It is the most often used of the larger denomination notes, and is commonly distributed through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). All users of U.S. currency should be familiar with the appearance and new security features of the new notes. People who use U.S. currency are the first line of defense against counterfeiting; cash handlers and consumers should examine all notes carefully to guard against counterfeits.

These notes were phased into circulation, replacing older notes as they reach the banking system. This multi-year introduction of the new series is necessary because of the time-intensive printing process and because a sufficient inventory of new notes must be available when the new note is issued to ensure its worldwide availability.

History of the New Series. Until the late 1920s, U.S. currency was redesigned frequently. There also were several types of notes in circulation: United States Notes, National Bank Notes, and Silver Certificates. Since the introduction of the Series 1928 Federal Reserve Notes, changes in the design have not affected the overall architecture of U.S. currency. This includes the use of microprinting and a security thread in Series 1990 and later notes.

The counterfeit-deterrent features added in Series 1990 were the first step in responding to advances in reprographic technologies. Although these features have proved effective and will be retained, additional measures are necessary to protect U.S. currency against future threats posed by continued improvements in copy machines, scanners, and printers. The new design, beginning with Series 1996, is the culmination of a five-year study aimed at staying ahead of the counterfeiting threat and is part of a continuing process to protect U.S. currency. At the same time, the redesign process has provided an opportunity to incorporate features that will make U.S. currency more readily identifiable, especially by the low-vision community.

The process began with the New Currency Design Task Force, which comprised representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve System, U.S. Secret Service, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). The Task Force made its recommendations to the Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence Steering Committee, also composed of representatives of the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, Secret Service and BEP. Based on a comprehensive study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued in 1993, the Steering Committee then made recommendations for the new design and security features to the Secretary of the Treasury, who has statutory authority to approve such changes.

More than 120 security features were examined and tested, including those submitted in response to a BEP solicitation, those used in other currencies, and those suggested by the NAS. Evaluation criteria included impact on security, proven reliability, ability to be manufactured in large quantities, and durability over time. Among the features evaluated were holograms, color shifting films, thread variations, color patterns, and machine-readable enhancements. The strategy of the Design Task Force was to incorporate as many features as are justifiable. The security features ultimately selected have proved successful in other countries as well as in test environments at BEP and the Federal Reserve, and since their incorporation into U.S. currency have been an effective deterrent to counterfeiters.

In its second report, the NAS evaluated features to help those with low vision differentiate between currency denominations. These included variations in size and shape, holes and other tactile features that the Task Force deemed were not sufficiently durable to be practicable for U.S. currency at this time. The Task Force agreed that a high-contrast feature, such as a large numeral on a light background, would be useful to the approximately 3.5 million Americans with low vision, and could be easily incorporated into the new series design without compromising the improved security of the new notes or adding cost. In addition, a new machine-readable feature was incorporated on the $20 note for the blind. It will facilitate development of convenient scanning devices that could identify the note's denomination.

The Design Task Force will continue to seek and test new features to make U.S. currency even more secure and more readily usable as technology further evolves.

The New Design. The new currency has the same size, color, and feel as the old notes, with the same historical figures and national symbols. In God We Trust and the legal tender wording also remain on the new bills. This continuity facilitates public education and universal recognition of the design as genuine U.S. currency--an important consideration since there will be dual circulation of the old and new currencies around the world.

The new $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills include several important security features, with certain variations depending upon the denomination:

PORTRAIT

A larger, slightly off-center portrait is the most noticeable visual change. The larger portrait incorporates more detail, making it easier to recognize and more difficult to counterfeit. Moving the portrait away from the center, the area of highest wear, will reduce wear on the portrait.

WATERMARK

Shifting the portrait off center provides room for a watermark, which is created during the paper-making process and is difficult for counterfeiters to reproduce. The watermark depicts the same historical figure as the engraved portrait.

FINE LINE PRINTING

The background of the portrait incorporates the technique of fine line printing, as does the background of the picture on the reverse side. This type of fine line printing is difficult to replicate accurately on scanning equipment or by other means of printing.

COLOR-SHIFTING INK

Color shifting ink changes from green to black when viewed from different angles. This feature is used in the numeral in the lower right-hand corner of the bill front (this security feature does not appear on the $5 note).

SECURITY THREAD

The use of a unique thread position for each denomination guards against counterfeiting. In the $5 note, the thread is located to the left of the Federal Reserve Seal and glows blue when held under ultraviolet light; in the $10 note, it is found to the left of the Federal Reserve Seal and glows orange; in the $20 note, the thread is to the far left of the portrait and glows green; in the $50 note, it is found to the right of the portrait and glows yellow; in the $100 note, it is found to the left of the portrait and glows red. The denomination of the note is also printed on each thread; for example, USA TWENTY and a flag are repeated along the thread in the $20 note. The number 20 appears within the star field of the flag.

MICROPRINTING

The numeral in the lower left-hand corner of the $10, $20 and $100 notes, and the side border design of the $5 and $50 notes incorporates microprinting, a printing technique using lettering that can be read with a low-powered magnifier. Extremely small print appears as a thin line to the naked eye and yields a blurred image when copied. On the $5 note, the words "The United States of America" is microprinted along the lower edge ornamentation of the portrait's oval frame. On the $10 note, the words The United States of America is microprinted just above Hamilton's name along the lower edge of the portrait's frame. On the $20 note, the words "The United States of America" are microprinted along the lower edge ornamentation of the portrait's oval frame. On the $50 note, similar microprinting is used in President Grant's collar, and on the $100 note it is found on the lapel of Benjamin Franklin's coat.

Serial numbers on the new currency differ slightly from old currency. The new serial numbers consist of two prefix letters, eight numerals, and a one-letter suffix. The first letter of the prefix designates the series (for example, Series 1996 is designated by the letter A). The second letter of the prefix designates the Federal Reserve Bank to which the note was issued. In addition, a universal Federal Reserve seal replaces individual seals for each Reserve Bank.

Although all denominations of currency will have security features, the number of features will vary according to denomination.

Lets examine each of these features.

1. Microprinting and Fine Line Printing. 1200 dpi scanning, editing, and printing, can achieve these security measures. However, even Photoshop CS4 running on four screaming 2 gig processors still cannot handle it, not to mention the time it takes. 600 is the only feasible option and works close enough.

2. Watermark. Here is how you do that. Use the lasso tool in Photoshop or Gimp to select the guys head in the center of the bill. Include his shoulders. Copy that selection. Then scale it down to the size of the watermark. Use the Transform Tool. The watermark is the exact image of the guy in the middle. Then position that image where the watermark goes. Then put it on the image at about 13% opacity. There is a slider labeled opacity. That is how dark it is put on the layer. It will be put there light enough that you will not notice it unless you hold it up to a light. A perfect counterfeit watermark. Then reverse the image, a mirror image, and put it on the back of the bill. Then from both sides you have a watermark.

3. Color shifting ink. Dont worry about it. No one checks it. And, it is hard to find. They check the feel first. Then the watermark. If they doubt that, the check it with a pen. If it passes the pen, the bill passes. They will not, cannot, argue with that proof.

4. UV thread. Only banks check that. You can do it with Photoshop and run it through another print process on a printer loaded with uv ink, however. They can make them as good as they want. It only requires spending the time to learn Photoshop or Gimp. Photoshop is a lot better, but you need Photoshop 7 or before. CS4 will not edit current notes. Gimp is adequate.

5. Then, they erase the background and print this on the right paper. These are their plates. Then they can copy and paste to change the serial numbers and save those files.

The new weird colored bills. It can be done, but is so complicated, it is much easier to use old bills. They work. So use them.

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