Despite the fact that counterfeiters are now facing substantial deadlines when they are caught, counterfeit money will be printed and will be printed.
A fake can be made in the following ways:
- Using an inkjet printer. It does not cost so much, print quality is constantly improving and improving, but there are no security features on the fake banknote and the picture is blurred. Any more or less attentive person will distinguish fake money printed on an inkjet printer from real ones.
- Using a color laser printer. The output image is more perfect, bright, it is not washed off with water. But upon closer examination, especially under a magnifying glass, it becomes obvious that the image consists of small dots, and there are no watermarks on the banknote .
- Screen printing. Counterfeit money received in this way can be distinguished from real ones by touch, because the pattern is embossed and voluminous.
- Offset printing. Money received in this way can only be distinguished from real money by a specialist.
Sometimes, to earn money on gullible citizens, counterfeiters and print nothing. Periodically, the media describes cases of scams when representatives of social services allegedly turned to elderly pensioners with offers to exchange all their savings for “new” money that was signed: “ticket of a joke bank” or “one hundred Russian bucks”. Conceived as comic, they were served to gullible citizens under the guise of real ones.
Another option is to change the denomination of the banknote. One dollar turns into 10, and 10 into a hundred. Such rude fakes most often come across foreign tourists or illiterate immigrants from neighboring countries who cannot imagine what real bills look like.
Sometimes criminals make fake money from real money - they break off watermarks and protection, the remainder is exchanged at the bank as a damaged bill, at face value. And the protection is attached to a new banknote.
By the way, they fake not only paper money, but also coins. Of course, no one will fake an ordinary ten or dime, but for a rare specimen for a collector worth several thousand (or even tens of thousands of rubles), there may be those who wish. Counterfeiting coins is a troublesome business; you can’t get by with just one printer. Fakes are cast, re-stamped, sawed off part of the "native" picture, and then soldered to another, thereby increasing the cost.
The most popular fake in the USA is a hundred dollar bill. In Russia - 1000 rubles. This is understandable, because a thousand now is one of the most popular banknotes. In addition, 5,000 banknotes are less common, which means that more attention is paid to checking them, it is easier to remember a person who sells fakes. One hundred and five hundred-ruble banknotes do not make much sense to counterfeit, since production costs will not pay off.
Counterfeiting of money for marketing purposes is punishable by law. The counterfeiter, whose guilt will be proved in court, will face imprisonment of up to 8 years and a fine of up to 1 million. The manufacture, storage and transportation of counterfeit banknotes, government securities or coins in large quantities threatens with imprisonment up to 12 years. Counterfeiting by a group of people threatens all participants with imprisonment of up to 15 years.
At the same time, it does not matter how long a person has been engaged in this business, whether he has lost one bill, or if their account has passed to thousands. True, there must be good reason for the arrest. It is not enough for law enforcement agencies to catch the seller’s hand. It must be proved that during the transfer he knew that the bill or coin was a fake, and not just purchased the goods for change from a banknote exchanged for an hour earlier.
How to protect yourself from fakes? Counterfeit money is most often without any watermarks and protective stripes, so for starters it would be nice to check it for a light. If you have doubts about the authenticity, put the new bill together with the old one and compare them or contact the nearest store or bank for verification.