Counterfeit Money

[KK]

I just got back from a local fast food chain and I handed them a twenty to pay for it, well the did their little marker test and it I guess tested positive for being counterfeit. They gave the twenty back to me and I could not tell it was counterfeit, although I don't have another one on my to tell 100%. It has that little USA TWENTY strip and it looks no different than a five I got here except for the strip on the 20 is about a 1/2 inch from the left hand side whereas the five is about 1 inch. It has the watermark, the lower right 20 is that kind of metalic greenish color. The only thing I question is it's a new style 20 and the date on it is 1996, where the new ones out by then. Is it possible this bill came in contact with something that made that pen test incorrect?

KK

 

[MichaelD]

It's more likely that the pen is contaminated from being run over hundreds of bills that have been in people's sweaty pockets and such.

The "pen test" is far from conclusive.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

WTF is the "pen test"? They swipe a marker and supposedly that tells them if it's counterfeit?

Give me a day and I'll probably be able to mass-produce bills that can pass that.

- M4H

 

[Platypus]

If you use it on a piece of scotch tape, it thinks it's legit.

 

[kindest]

ya the pen test isnt a definitive test.

but you better run the secret service is after u now..
heh
j/k

 

go to your bank, see if it is. If they have no one that can tell, go to your local PD...if they still dont, contact the US Secret Service about what to do.

 

[KK]

The paper even has those little red and blue fibers, just like this five.

KK

 

[CPA]

Just go to a place that doesn't do the marker test.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: FallenHero
go to your bank, see if it is. If they have no one that can tell, go to your local PD...if they still dont, contact the US Secret Service about what to do.

If I go to the bank and they say it's counterfeit, do they have to keep it? I'd rather return it to kroger where I got it from and let them deal with it.

KK

 

[fs5]

they marker tested a $20? wtf?

 

[kranky]

The "metallic" ink should appear green when looking at it head-on, but it appears black when viewed at an angle.

Also, the digits in the number "20" in the lower-left corner contain "USA 20" repeated many times in very small type (you can check with a magnifying glass). Also, around the bottom of the portrait it says "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in even smaller type.

If your bill passes these tests, along with the security thread and watermark, it's genuine.

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: fivespeed5
they marker tested a $20? wtf?

That's what I'm saying. The only time I've ever gotten a bill tested was with $100 bills.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: FallenHero
go to your bank, see if it is. If they have no one that can tell, go to your local PD...if they still dont, contact the US Secret Service about what to do.

If I go to the bank and they say it's counterfeit, do they have to keep it? I'd rather return it to kroger where I got it from and let them deal with it.

KK

Yes, they would. You would be out 20 bucks.

they marker tested a $20? wtf?

Maybe some counterfeit 20's had been popping up in the area. In that case, it would be smart to test them all, at least for awhile.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: kranky
The "metallic" ink should appear green when looking at it head-on, but it appears black when viewed at an angle.

Also, the digits in the number "20" in the lower-left corner contain "USA 20" repeated many times in very small type (you can check with a magnifying glass). Also, around the bottom of the portrait it says "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in even smaller type.

If your bill passes these tests, along with the security thread and watermark, it's genuine.

That metalic ink did look black at an angle. I can read the USA20 in the "20" I can't make out for sure what is around the portrait, but the first and forth words are smaller. That's looking with out a magnifying glass.

KK

 

[CubicZirconia]

How to Detect Counterfeit Money

From the Secret Service.

 

[rocadelpunk]

dude, seriously time to go to the local strip club.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Man, I have a big problem with counterfiet money. Its way too widespread in Canada right now. In fact, most sotres/fastfood places dont even accept $50 and $100 bills anymore.

I work at Costco (which does accept those bills), and I unfortunately let a fake $20 bill go thru (which I felt really bad for). So now I check every bill that I get. But it takes quite a while..especially when theres a long line and hte member just paid $500 in cash (with mostly $20s)!

 

[Rallispec]

my freshman year of college-- some idiots on my Hall (including my roomate) decided to scan some 20's on my computer while i was in class-- they ended up printing out about 200 worth of fake 20's on regular computer paper.

anyhow--- i didnt find out about it until later, when they got busted using one of them at dairy queen and the next day the secret service showed up and confiscated my computer for over a month becuase my roomate had given them my name and told them i helped... . Anyhow-- its a long story, but thats kind of how it went. REALLY SUCKED.

counterfiet money = the suck

 

[Dudd]

Why is the Secret Service in charge of counterfeiting and not the FBI? It just seems strange to me, a little out of their usual niche.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: Dudd
Why is the Secret Service in charge of counterfeiting and not the FBI? It just seems strange to me, a little out of their usual niche.

becuase the SS falls under the department of the treasury. I dont know why though.

 

[digitalsm]

Originally posted by: KK
I just got back from a local fast food chain and I handed them a twenty to pay for it, well the did their little marker test and it I guess tested positive for being counterfeit. They gave the twenty back to me and I could not tell it was counterfeit, although I don't have another one on my to tell 100%. It has that little USA TWENTY strip and it looks no different than a five I got here except for the strip on the 20 is about a 1/2 inch from the left hand side whereas the five is about 1 inch. It has the watermark, the lower right 20 is that kind of metalic greenish color. The only thing I question is it's a new style 20 and the date on it is 1996, where the new ones out by then. Is it possible this bill came in contact with something that made that pen test incorrect?

KK

The strip is located at different places in each note($20, $10 etc).

It would take a talented artist to pull of a counterfeit bill that passes all the anti-counterfiet measures(blue/red nylon fibers in the bill, watermark, metallics strip, color shifting ink, micro print.

How does the pen test work?

 

[kranky]

Those pens contain an iodine solution that reacts with the starch in wood-based paper to create a black stain. When the solution is applied to the fiber-based paper used in real bills, no discoloration occurs. The pen does nothing but detect bills printed on normal copier paper instead of the fine papers used by the U.S. Treasury. (According to howstuffworks.com)

They are redesigning the $20 bill again, and new ones will be out in the fall. I got to see some of the new ones last week and they are adding red and blue images to the front, and small gold "20"s on the reverse. It doesn't look like Monopoly money, but the additional color is noticeable.

 

[crypticlogin]

becuase the SS falls under the department of the treasury. I dont know why though.

The Secret Service was created to take care of (surprise, surprise) counterfeiting during the mid-1800's. Since then, it's assumed more visible and broader roles like political figure protections and the like, so people don't really link the Secret Service with the Treasury.

anyhow--- i didnt find out about it until later, when they got busted using one of them at dairy queen and the next day the secret service showed up and confiscated my computer for over a month becuase my roomate had given them my name and told them i helped... . Anyhow-- its a long story, but thats kind of how it went. REALLY SUCKED.

Go roommates!

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: Dudd
Why is the Secret Service in charge of counterfeiting and not the FBI? It just seems strange to me, a little out of their usual niche.

The FBI didn't even exist when the Secret Service began protecting the president. In fact, the FBI initially consisted of 8 former Secret Service agents transferred to the department of justice. It seems logical that the organization that started protecting the president would continue to do so today.

Secret Service timeline