Counterfeit Money: How to Spot Fake Bills

When retailers accept fake bills, they bear the entire burden of the loss. And although money printing techniques are improving, the bad bills can be detected. Here’s how to spot counterfeit money and protect your business from related losses.

Unfortunately for businesses, not all counterfeit bills are found and seized before getting into distribution. And when a business accepts fake money in payment for merchandise or services, they lose the face value of the money they received plus any goods or services they provided to the customer who paid with the counterfeit $20, $50 or $100 bill.

10 ways small businesses can spot and intercept counterfeit bills

Small business owners need to be aware of the many ways to detect counterfeit money. The Secret Service offers a downloadable PDF called Know Your Money, which points out key features to look at to determine if a bill is real or fake.

The secret service and U.S. Treasury also offer these suggestions:

1. Examine all bills over $10 – Business owners should train their employees to examine all bills they receive above $10. If they believe they are being given counterfeit money, they should call the police.
2. Use the light – Hold a bill up to a light and look for a hologram showing an image that matches the face of the individual on the bill. Both images should match. If someone has bleached and altered a $5 bill to look like a $100 bill, for instance, the hologram will display an image of Abraham Lincoln, who appears on the $5 bills, instead of Benjamin Franklin.
3. Look for a security strip – Looking at the bill through a light will also reveal a thin vertical strip containing text that spells out the bill’s denomination.
4. Color-shifting ink: If you hold a new series bill (except the $5 note) and tilt it back and forth, please observe the numeral in the lower right hand corner as its color shifts from green to black and back.
5. Watermark: Hold the bill up to a light to view the watermark in an unprinted space to the right of the portrait. The watermark can be seen from both sides of the bill since it is not printed on the bill, but is embedded in the paper
6. Security Thread: Hold the bill a light to view the security thread. You will see a thin embedded strip running from top to bottom on the face of a banknote. In the $10 and $50 the security strip is located to the right of the portrait, and in the $5, $20 and $100, it is located just to the left of the portrait.
7. Ultraviolet Glow: If the bill is held up to an ultraviolet light, the $5 bill glows blue; the $10 bill glows orange, the $20 bill glows green, the $50 bill glows yellow, and the $100 bill glows red – if they are authentic!
8. Microprinting: There are minute microprinting on the security threads: the $5 bill has “USA FIVE” written on the thread; the $10 bill has “USA TEN” written on the thread; the $20 bill has “USA TWENTY” written on the thread; the $50 bill has “USA 50” written on the thread; and the $100 bill has the words “USA 100” written on the security thread. Microprinting can be found around the portrait as well as on the security threads.
9. Fine Line Printing Patterns: Very fine lines have been added behind the portrait and on the reverse side scene to make it harder to reproduce.
10. Comparison: Compare the feel and texture of the paper with other bills you know are authentic.

If you believe you have received counterfeit money, the U.S. Treasury advises you to do the following:

1. Do not put yourself in danger.
2. Do not return the bill to the passer.
3. Delay the passer with some excuse, if possible.
4. Observe the passer’s description – and their companions’ descriptions – and write down their vehicle license plate numbers if you can.
5. Contact your local police department or call your local Secret Service office.
6. Write your initials and date in the white border area of the suspected counterfeit note.
7. Do not handle the counterfeit note. Place it inside a protective cover, a plastic bag, or envelope to protect it until you place it in the hands of an identified Secret Service Special Agent. You can also mail it to your nearest Secret Service office.

Information provided by ZenBusiness.