Counterfeit money is harder to spot, says a report from the USA.
US Today reported that even though a counterfeit detector pen was used on a fake $100 (€91) bill that a shopper paid with, the ink stayed clear, and it wasn’t until the money was taken to the bank that it was found to be counterfeit. Advanced technology, higher resolutions and colour duplication, along with the lower cost of printing, are making it much harder to define fake currency.
In the financial year of 2015, of the $78 million (€71 million) in counterfeit currency seized, 70 percent was “made using digital printing technology”, reported the Secret Service. Last year “six men were sentenced” for making counterfeit $100 (€91) notes, but they evaded being caught for 15 years because of the sophistication of the fake money. Another case involved a Missouri man printing $9,000 (€8,259) worth of $100 (€91) notes while living in a truck.
Hairdresser Todd Mulbarger, who owns several salons in California, said that he loses $300 to $400 (€275 to €367) a year “due to counterfeits”. There is no reimbursement for being paid with fake money, which can be very hard on those not in a high income bracket. Technology may have helped the criminals but it has also helped law enforcement to “crack down” on the crime by “improved security features” said Elena Quercioli, an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Texas
She added that you have to “think of it as a game. The better they get at counterfeiting, the better we get at catching the counterfeits”. Mulbarger says that the number of counterfeit notes he sees in his salons has dropped “significantly over 20 years” due to the fact more people are using credit cards and that the amount of fake notes “is slipping every year”. A video showing how to identify counterfeit notes is able to be viewed below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybt04VtOmzE[/youtube]