Posted on 11/06/2010 3:16:40 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Funny money is turning up in record amounts now that computers and high-tech printers have taken the skill out of counterfeiting, the U.S. Secret Service says.
The agency said that in 2009 more than 60 percent of counterfeit bills were created on digital printers. In 1995 only 1 percent were.
"There really is no craftsmanship or workmanship in this anymore," Special Agent Scott Vogel, a 20-year veteran, told the Detroit Free Press. "If you're able to put a piece of paper in a copy machine and push a button, that's pretty much all it takes."
In the old days, investigators could identify specific counterfeiters by their style, often long before they were detected. One of the most celebrated examples was "Old Mr. 880," a nickname that came from the file number and the length of time he escaped detection, who got away with making crude $1 bills for years because no one looked at them closely.
In 2009 the Secret Service removed $182 million in counterfeit bills from circulation. That was more than twice the $79 million discovered in the previous year.
Earlier today there was a thread about the Treasury printing up another 600 Billion...
Way back around 1987 a couple of guys in my office (we were working for a dept. of the U.S. Treasury), copied a couple of bills just using the office copier.
I was surprised how good they were tho they were crude by today’s standard. I am sure they could have been passed at many places.
Yes we shredded them after looking.
That would almost pay for one day of Obama's vacation in India.
Where I used to work a new printer was installed and a daffy supervisor put on a 5. Printer shut down. HA!
Without a currency backed by gold or silver,,, i fail to see the crime anymore. They seriously argue that a handfull of counterfeiters are going to endanger the confidence in the currency? While they print up another trillion,, are they insane?
Recently read that the North Koreans caught up with the new watermarking technologies and are again flooding the market with counterfeit US bills.
Also, years ago the Treasury/Secret Service forced all digital printer/copier manufacturers to integrate low level physical identification in the yellow/cyan printouts to allow for easy tracking of counterfeiters’s printers.
“While the Bureau of Printing and Engraving changes the nature of our bills, federal laws are changing the nature of our printers and scanners. The federal government is putting pressure on companies of photocopying machines to create devices that help deter counterfeiting. Such techniques consist of digital watermarking and currency detection software. Digital watermarks are information discretely inserted into digital copies. One example of a digital watermark is printer serial codes, which are small yellow dots printed on every copy a printer makes. These small yellow dots are not easily seen by an unaware bystander, but when held under the scrutinizing eye of a Secret Service agent, they then can lead to the source of counterfeit bills (Murphy 145). Currency-detection software allows for scanners and printers to recognize attempts at printing or scanning money. Scanners with this software automatically delete any incoming scans that resemble currency, preventing counterfeiters from creating a digital copy.”
“He doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills.”
Uh.. they’re all expired.
I worked as a photoengraver back in the early 1970s and the Treasury Dept. kept a pretty close eye on us us for back then it took a 20X24 camera, film negatives and printing plates to make a counterfeit bill.
A few weeks ago, I paid for something at Wal-Mart with a five dollar bill. The cashier took out a marker and moved it over the bill.
I thought it was really stupid as I doubt many people counterfeit five dollar bills.
"There really is no craftsmanship or workmanship in this anymore," Special Agent Scott Vogel, a 20-year veteran, told the Detroit Free Press. "If you're able to put a piece of paper in a copy machine and push a button, that's pretty much all it takes."Now Treasury is giving people step by instructions on how to print their own money.
Hawaiian birt certificates are even easier to fake than currency!
A lot of direct mail companies charge extra for sending out stamped mail instead of metered mail since it is more likely to be openned.
It might be a bit of a job to move the stamps but that's only a problem for people criminal enough to do it.
All the marker does is look for starch in the paper. I’ve considered spraying starch on random bills just to cause trouble.
A color copy of a $100 bill left in a public place leads to some funny reactions.
We’re in the basement...
Every now and then, one of those alarms goes off when I walk out the door. It is irritating and I now just ignore it and keep going. They never do anything and probably can’t.
I am tempted to take off running just to fool them.
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