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U.S. Treasury Announces Plans to Redesign $5 bill
September 12, 2009
On June 29 th of this year, the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced plans to alter their previously published currency redesign schedule in order to move forward the redesign of the U.S. $5 bill.
This move clearly highlights the issues facing the public when dealing with U.S. currency notes. As we previously published in our February newsletter, a counterfeiting epidemic has struck the U.S. currency, with criminals using the $5 bill as the "stock" from which they make counterfeit $100 & $50 bills.
This practice, known as "washing", is when a counterfeiter bleaches (washes) the ink off a $5 bill. They then print the images of a $100 bill onto the washed $5 paper stock, using commonly available scanning, graphics, and printing equipment to produce very high-quality copies of the $100 bill.
This practice has caused tremendous problems for the public for a number of reasons:
- The use of genuine $5 paper stock means the counterfeit $100's are able to pass the "currency marker" test, as well as some less-advanced electronic testing techniques, such as magnetic ink readers and other tests that check to make sure the currency paper is genuine.
- The washed $5 notes do have a number of "visual verification" features, such as the security strip (located in almost the identical place as the $100 bill), and a watermark.
- Because the high-quality counterfeits do not require expensive, specialized equipment to manufacture, they are being made by anybody with a computer and experience using desktop publishing software.
As we stated in our last newsletter, the currency marker pens have lost their effectiveness, and nobody should be relying on them as the sole technique to verify currency notes. The recent surge in washed notes highlights this problem even further.
Regarding the visual verification features in the washed notes, closer examination of these features will reveal that they are NOT the correct feature for the $100 bill. For example, the security strip will have micro printing that says "US Five", while the watermark will be an image of President Lincoln, instead of Benjamin Franklin. However, to notice these discrepancies, a cashier must be diligent and look very carefully at each note. This is sometimes problematic at the busy transaction counter, where time is of the essence, and customers may feel they are being treated suspiciously if their notes are closely examined to read micro printing.
Most disturbing of all is the fact that anybody can produce these very high quality counterfeits. This means there is no large-scale operation required to produce the notes, which makes it extremely difficult for the Secret Service to effectively investigate and stop the problem. A counterfeiter can produce fakes on an "as needed" basis, making only one or two $100 notes at a time.
The question on everybody's minds at this point has to be "How can I prevent taking losses from these notes in my business?" The answers are simple. The Bureau of Engraving provides numerous tips on how to verify banknotes at their website, here: http://www.moneyfactory.gov. These techniques are effective, but do require training of employees responsible for receiving cash from the public.
An affordable alternative is to use the Fraud-FighterT line of ultra-violet detection scanners, which enable you to view the fluorescing security features in the currency notes. In the case of the washed notes, our scanners will reveal the "blue" $5 security feature, which is an instant indicator that the $100 bill is fake. The test is instant, and the training of employees is simple and easy.
Please feel free to be in touch with us to learn more about these important issues that affect your company's bottom-line.
