Posted on 07/02/2010 10:00:04 PM PDT by neverdem
A simple and fast technique to examine the surface of banknotes and identify counterfeits has been developed by scientists in Brazil and the US.
The counterfeiting of banknotes is a global problem that is increasing in scale and sophistication. Counterfeiters now use computerised reproduction methods like scanners and laser printers to copy real notes, and gone are the days when a fake could be spotted by simply testing the look and feel of the paper.
The new technologies used by counterfeiters have thrown out a challenge to law enforcement. 'Forensic laboratories are therefore confronted with an increasing demand to analyse larger numbers of samples with faster responses and reliable verdicts for samples fabricated with greater sophistication than ever,' says Marcos Eberlin, one of the researchers at the University of Campinas, Brazil.
With Graham Cooks at Purdue University in West Lafayette, US, Eberlin and colleagues have devised a mass spectrometric technique that can give a chemical profile of banknotes in seconds. There is almost no sample preparation required, it is non-destructive, and the test can also reveal which counterfeit method was used to create the 'funny money'.
|
Mass spectrometry detects fake notes
|
This new technique relies on using desorption ionisation mass spectrometry to test different spots on the banknote. The real banknotes show similar data (m/z ions), distributed evenly over the entire surface, despite age, denomination and colour pattern. This provides a fingerprint for the real banknotes. When the laserjet and inkjet notes are tested, a distinct set of ion markers can be seen and their fingerprint is quite different from the real money.
'The work convincingly demonstrates a relevant application of these techniques in combating currency forgery,' comments Niamh Nic Daeid, a forensic chemist at the University of Strathclyde in the UK. 'The next challenge will be to make this technology widely available to the forensic community as a robust and affordable technique.'
As well as discovering fake money, Eberlin can see this method being used in a preventative way. 'We are already working together with the Brazilian Federal Police and the manufactures in Brazil to find the most effective way to add these chemical signatures, either in ink formulations or as invisible stamps or bar codes, as a new and hard to imitate security measure for Brazilian banknotes,' he says.
Instantaneous chemical profiles of banknotes by ambient mass spectrometry
Livia S. Eberlin, Renato Haddad, Ramon C. Sarabia Neto, Ricardo G. Cosso, Denison R. J. Maia, Adriano O. Maldaner, Jorge Jardim Zacca, Gustavo B. Sanvido, Wanderson Romão, Boniek G. Vaz, Demian R. Ifa, Allison Dill, R. Graham Cooks and Marcos N. Eberlin, Analyst, 2010
DOI: 10.1039/c0an00243g
A reaction between two sheets of chemically treated paper creates patterns that could deter counterfeiters
Joe Caruso talks to May Copsey about warfare agents, proteomics and why elemental mass spectrometry is not just all about the metal.
Interview: Analytical conversation
Gunda Köllensperger talks about elemental speciation, analytical chemistry and crime fiction
And the mass spec costs a hundred grand to buy and a thousand a month to run (vacuum pumps, standards, consumables).
This will make money more expensive.
>And the mass spec costs a hundred grand to buy and a thousand a month to run (vacuum pumps, standards, consumables).
>
>This will make money more expensive.
Well, there has to be SOMETHING to counter-balance all that money we’re printing...
[/semi-sarc]
This will make money more expensive.
How so? Most decent forensic labs probably have a mass spec already.
That’s why you buy the equipment with counterfeit money...
They may have a GC/MS or LC/MS, but to do the money analysis you need a DESI front end. And if you are processing a thousand bill samples, that’s a thousand other samples you can’t run, like meth lab stuff or coke determinations.
Which adds to the backlog, so some bureaucrat buys another MS/DESI unit or two per forensics labs to keep ahead of the backlog, and those millions add up, making “clean” money expensive.
Most FBI labs have considerable backlogs already for fancy analyses.
On TV there are never backlogs, the CSI shows always have a GC/MS or PCR setup just waiting for this week’s samples, and the answers are available after one commercial break.
Yeah, I wish I had thought of that!
I’m convinced most counterfeit money is printed by countries in conflict. Every country has the engravers, printing presses, etc. that could easily print the money of other countries as well as their own.
Does anyone doubt China is printing U.S. greenbacks this very minute?
I don’t see what difference it makes if I print money in my basement, or Obama prints it at the treasury.
So infrared spectra won't satisfy the standards of forensic chemistry for simple chemical identification?
|
Or the North Koeans either, but tell that to the gov't.
A better way than trying methods to detect fake dollars is to...
not make paper dollars, euros, etc. in the first place.
Peg the US dollar to gold at, for instance, $2000 per ounce and replace all honest $100 notes with 1/20th ounce Gold coins.
“You can imagine the frustration this can cause. So, when tools like these are small enough, simple enough and easy-to-use enough that they can be widely made available...then you will see it actually making a dent in fake money transactions. “
The counterfeiters will find a way to adapt to whatever detection methods are implemented. Clearly, the only effetive solution is to eliminate currency altogether and create a global cashless economy. Every person will need a fraud proof identification tag that can be read simply and cheaply at any point of sale terminal. Perhaps a UV readable barcode tattoo on the right hand or forehead...
Such a system will deter a lot of other criminal activity besides counterfeiting. The mark of the beast is necessary and inevitable.
“Peg the US dollar to gold at, for instance, $2000 per ounce and replace all honest $100 notes with 1/20th ounce Gold coins.”
That would be an excellent solution but I bet the government will choose instead to eliminate cash
“Who cares? I’ll just go in the ladder business.”
I really tried, but I can’t figure out what that means, give me another clue.
So, is this going to put the biggest counterfitter, the Federal Reserve, out of business?
This is another reason why the drive to UEF (Universal Electronic Transfers) will accelerate.
Elimination of all paper currency, only transactions under $100 to be exempt, the advantages (so they will say) will be safety, security and complete accountability.
It will also allow the Fed to cook the electronic books on a scale Ponzi could only fantasize about.
Peg the US dollar to gold at, for instance, $2000 per ounce and replace all honest $100 notes with 1/20th ounce Gold coins.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.