Bogus bill busters

  • Associated Press
  • Friday, December 24, 2004 9:00pm
  • Business

WASHINGTON – Karl Miller hunts for clues in cold cash – counterfeit cash, that is.

Studying a bogus $100 bill, Miller looks for imperfections – a wisp of ink extending outside of a line, blurred scrollwork, a mottled background – that might tie it to another one on record, and help investigators catch the counterfeiters.

“What we are trying to do is compare the image that we see, the details from it, to the details seen on previous images of counterfeit,” said Miller, a counterfeit specialist in the Secret Service’s anti-counterfeiting lab. The Secret Service is the primary federal agency for investigating the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.

A cache of 23,000 uniquely classified counterfeit notes stored in a “specimen vault” helps investigators make a match. That, in turn, helps them decide whether to go after those who made the phony money or those who distributed it.

Using microscopes, hand-held magnifiers and a fleet of sophisticated instruments and equipment, investigators analyze the bogus bills.

“We start with the paper and work our way to determine how they did produce it,” said Lorelei Pagano, a senior counterfeit specialist.

Real bills, for instance, have tiny red and blue fibers embedded throughout. Counterfeiters often try to simulate them by printing tiny red and blue lines on their paper.

Examiners also look for attempts to copy security features, such as watermarks that become visible when held up to light, ink that shifts colors when a bill is tilted and embedded security threads that glow a certain color when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Information about how a counterfeit bill is made also helps examiners evaluate the effectiveness of existing security features.

The lab also studies the security features of foreign currencies, keeps up with new security technologies, conducts anti-counterfeiting training and assesses the effectiveness of possible changes to U.S. currency.

Roughly 60 percent of the $37 million in counterfeit notes passed off as genuine in the United States are printed overseas, mostly in Columbia, the Secret Service says. Officials suspect the counterfeiting may be related to the drug trade.

Most bogus U.S. notes made overseas are done through traditional printing processes, such as offset printing, while most of those produced in the United States are done digitally, Secret Service officials say.

In general, a traditionally printed counterfeit note tends to look better than a digital one, although quality can run the gamut for each type of printing process.

Counterfeiters in the United States who use traditional printing methods are becoming a rarer breed, officials say.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.