How to Identify Fake US Dollars

If you have a U.S. dollar bill that you’re not sure is real or fake, read the steps below to see if it’s real or fake. Of course, it is illegal to possess, use, or print counterfeit currency and if a Court prosecutor can prove that you are intending to defraud or use counterfeit money, then under US Federal law, Your sentence could be up to 20 years in prison. Therefore, if you receive a counterfeit bill, immediately return it to the authorities for processing instead of putting it into circulation.

Table of Contents

Check Security Points

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Look at the bill under the light. In addition to the 1 and 2 dollar bills, all other US dollar bills have a safety band (plastic strip) running from top to bottom along the bill.

This safety band is imprinted under the note and runs vertically from the blank to the left of the Federal Reserve seal. With real money, you will easily see this band under the lights. ^{[1] X Research Source}
Just below the face value of the US dollar bill is the word “USA”, which is clearly indicated in words for the $10 and $20 bills, except for the $5, 50, and 100 dollar bills. These strips are placed in different positions depending on the denomination to prevent low-denomination bills from being bleached and counterfeited into high-denomination bills.
Real money will read the inscriptions from both the front and back of the bill. If you can’t see this under the lights, chances are the sheet you’re holding is fake.

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Use a mild ultraviolet lamp to observe the security band. The security strip on high-denomination bills is usually this particular color.

The $5 bill will be bright blue, the $10 bill will be bright orange, the $20 bill will be bright green, the $50 bill will be bright yellow, and the $100 bill will be bright pink.
If the bill you suspect is only white in dark light, it’s most likely a fake.

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Check the watermark on the bill. Under natural light, if the bill appears a portrait of a leader on the bill, it is real money!

Examine the note under the light to check for this imprint. The portrait watermark will appear on $10, 20, 50, and 100 dollar bills with serial numbers from 1996 or earlier, and on $5 bills with serial numbers from 1999 and earlier.
The watermark is imprinted on the bill to the right of the portrait and will be easily seen from both sides of the bill.

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Tilt the note to check the color of the ink. The ink will change color when you tilt the bill to the other side.

Color-shifted $100, $50 and $20 bills have serial numbers from 1996 or earlier, on $10 bills with serial numbers from 1999 or earlier.
The $5 bill and lower denominations do not yet have this feature. The original ink color usually appears to be from blue to black, but can be from copper to green on redesigned bills in recent years.

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Check out the fine print on words and numbers. They may be difficult to see with the naked eye and impossible to read without a magnifying glass.

Beginning in 1990, fine print was applied at certain points on the $5 bill (usually changed periodically since 1990) and higher denomination bills.
Don’t worry about those special points. Because microprinting is difficult to reproduce, counterfeit money often cannot have this feature.
Counterfeit money, if it has microprinting technology, tends to have blurred letters and numbers. On real money, microprinting is usually very clear and sharp.

Manual Check

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Touch the paper material of money. If it is a fake money, you will feel its paper material different from the real money when you touch it normally.

Real money is made from cotton and linen yarn. And so, the material of real money will be very different from ordinary paper made from wood. Real money is made from a material that is more durable and retains its sharpness over time, whereas regular paper becomes softer and more prone to tearing as it ages.
Paper used to print money is not sold commercially. The chemical composition of the paper and ink is also kept secret. And even if you don’t have the experience of detecting counterfeit money, you can see for yourself the difference in this particularly clear money printing material.
Real US dollar bills are printed with ink that is slightly above the surface during the imprinting process. And you should touch to feel this ink, especially if it is a new dollar, you will feel it best.
Move your fingernails to touch the portrait shirt of the bill, you will feel those distinctive ripples. Counterfeit money cannot replicate this special feature.

Visual Inspection

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Check print quality. Counterfeit money tends to be relatively flat and lacks detail. This is because when it comes to making real money, the printing method is kept secret and therefore would be extremely difficult to imitate. Counterfeit money is therefore often forced into adaptive production.

Real US dollar bills are printed using offset printing and digital printing (the usual printing method used by counterfeiters today) that is nowhere to be mass-applied. Pay attention to blurred areas, especially sharp details like the edges of the bill.
Look for colored threads on the bill. All real US dollar bills have very fine colored threads on them. Counterfeit money often tries to imitate this by adding this and even painting those colored threads on the bill. Therefore, the blue and red thread will be printed right on the fake bill instead of just a small part of the real bill.

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Let’s look at the contours. According to Secret Service officials, the edges of real money are often “clear and unbroken”. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

On the Federal Reserve’s stamp, the jagged edges are often very sharp and clear right on the real note. The mark of a counterfeit bill often has irregular, broken or messy serrations.
Pay attention to even the smallest ink smudges. Due to the difference in printing method between real and counterfeit money, ink smudges often appear on counterfeit bills.

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Observe the portrait on the bill. Look at the pictures of the leaders on the bill. There will be certain differences that will tell you the bill is fake.

The portrait on the counterfeit bill is often blurred, faded or looks a bit odd, while on the real banknote, the portrait of the leader will be very sharp and beautiful, the features are harmonious.
On real bills, the portrait tends to stand out more against the background of the bill. On counterfeit banknotes, the colors of the portraits are often over-blended.
Use a magnifying glass to get a close look at the edges of portraits. The phrase “United States of America” is repeated along the edge of the portrait. And it looks like a bold line to the naked eye. This feature is especially difficult to copy with conventional printers and copiers due to limitations in scale and meticulousness. . ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Check the serial number. Usually there will be 2 serial numbers on the face of the bill located on each side of the portrait. So look closely at the note and make sure the serial numbers match.

Observe the color of the serial number on the face of the bill and compare it with the color of the Federal Treasury seal. If it doesn’t match, the bill you suspect may be counterfeit.
Counterfeit money often has a series of serial numbers that are unevenly distributed and not aligned.
If you receive a stack of suspected counterfeit bills, check to see if the serial numbers are the same. Counterfeiters often skip the step of changing the serial number on counterfeit bills. So, if the serial numbers are all the same, they are definitely fake! ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Handle Counterfeit Money Correctly

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Never shake hands to produce counterfeit money. Because it is illegal to possess, use, or produce counterfeit currency, and if a prosecutor of the Court can prove that you are intending to defraud, or use, counterfeit money, then under U.S. Federal law the maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

If counterfeit money reaches you, do not circulate the transaction counterfeit money to someone else, but instead follow these instructions. Check the bill that you find suspicious. Remember who gave you that bill. ^{[6] X Research Sources}^{[7] X Research Sources}
If you receive a counterfeit bill, send it to the Secret Service/Investigative Service. Failing to report or knowingly circulate counterfeit currency will further make your mistake if someone reports you as a counterfeiter.

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Try to remember who gave it to you. If possible, delay receiving money from anyone for as long as possible and visualize what that person looks like if possible. Take note of anyone traveling with or related to that person. Enter their driver’s license number if possible. . ^{[8] X Research Sources}^{[9] X Research Sources}

It’s also important to note that the person who gave you the counterfeit bill may not have produced the counterfeit bill. They may also be victims of counterfeit currency circulation.
Usually there is no connection between the giver and the bills, so people often check the bills themselves. For example, quite a few store cashiers check large bills before accepting them from any customers. This way, the cashier can relate these suspected counterfeit bills to the person who gave them.

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Contact the authorities immediately. Find the address of the nearest police office. Office of the US Secret Service. Contact phone numbers are usually easy to find on the first page of your local phone book or easily found online. ^{[10] X Research Sources}^{[11] X Research Sources}

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Avoid holding counterfeit money. Carefully store it in a mailing envelope or small bag. This will easily help authorities to collect more information related to counterfeit money: fingerprints, compounds or chemicals used to print, printing methods, etc. That is also a lesson. that you will remember about how to spot counterfeit money and help others avoid making the same mistake you did. ^{[12] X Research Sources}^{[13] X Research Sources}

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Write down all the information you know. Put the symbols and the date you received the bill on the edge of the bill you suspect or on the envelope you used to put the bill in. The date information will help you remember the date the counterfeit money reached you or the signs who found it to be fake. ^{[14] X Research Source}^{[15] X Research Source}

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Fill out the Secret Service/Investigative Counterfeit Money Statement. When you receive a counterfeit bill, you must fill out this form. This declaration form can be found online at http://www.secretservice.gov/forms/ssf1604.pdf. ^{[16] X Research Source}^{[17] X Research Source}

When a counterfeit bill is filed with this declaration, it will be considered counterfeit unless there is other evidence.
Fill out 1 declaration for each bill suspected to be fake.
This declaration is used to transfer to the bank who discovered the counterfeit money, as well as the individual circulating it. If you receive a genuine counterfeit bill at a bank where you are an employee, report this immediately to your manager and fill out this form.

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Transfer the counterfeit bill to the Secret Service/Investigative Service or authorized person for verification. When asked, state any information you know regarding the counterfeit bill, the people involved, or any other information you remember when receiving the counterfeit bill. ^{[18] X Research Source}^{[19] X Research Source}

You will not be refunded for this fake money transfer. This will help prevent individuals from receiving free money if they themselves produce counterfeit money and then pretend to bring reports to receive money.

Advice

“Edit the face value of money”. Low-denomination notes tend to now have their old ink removed and reprinted with higher denominations. These types of bills are usually easy to spot by looking at the position (or lacuna) of the security strip or imprinted under the electric light. If you are still unsure, compare this note with another of the same denomination.
The U.S. Secret Service and Treasury do not recommend that people rely on the counterfeit detection pen that you often see clerks or cashiers at the store use. These pens are only effective when the bill is printed on another type of paper (a reaction to the starch). As such, the pen will also detect or distinguish some counterfeit money, but it cannot detect the finer details of counterfeiting and will potentially misrepresent the real money that has been laundered.
Real money has a very vivid and prominent portrait on the bill. The portrait on counterfeit money is often not vivid and does not stand out. The details that match the background of the counterfeit bill are often too dark or speckled.
As the steps above explained, $1 and $2 bills generally have less protective properties than other denominations. This rarely becomes a problem as counterfeiters rarely attempt to produce such low-denomination bills.
There is a very misconception that if the ink smudges when you rub the bill on something, it is not real money. This is not necessarily true because the ink does not smudge does not mean that it is real money.
The ink used to print US dollar bills is magnetic, but this is not a method of detecting counterfeit money. Its durability is extremely low and is only useful when you withdraw money at automated teller machines. If you have a small magnet like a neodymium magnet it can attract a real bill. Even if you can’t get it off the table, you can be sure it’s real money.
The thin borders surrounding the real money are usually very clear and unbroken. On counterfeit bills, the edges are often blurred and unclear.
Look for differences, not similarities. On a counterfeit note, if everything is fine and looks exactly like the real thing, find out if there’s at least one difference that you spot, it’s probably a fake.
In 2008, the $5 bill was redesigned with the portrait embossed in place of the number “5” and the security band was moved from the left side of the portrait to the right.
On the new $100 bill, you’ll see the phrase “United States of America” microprinted on the jacket of Benjamin Franklin’s portrait. This detail is difficult to do unless it is done by the US Mint.
Starting with the 2004 serial numbers, the 10, 20 and 50 dollar bills have been redesigned with many changes overall, and most obviously adding more colors (see image of the 50 note). dollars above to see). The most important security feature is the addition of the constellation EURion, a very different arrangement of symbols (and in this case numbers). This makes it difficult for anyone who wants to print counterfeit money with a color copier.
The ink will wash off and the paper will fade as you let water soak into the counterfeit bill and rub the soaked note with your fingers. This fake bill will not be able to move anywhere! As for the real money, there will be no damage to water.
Imprinting technology uses metal plates. When printing, the ink will be deposited in the sunken areas and the smooth surface is cleaned. That sheet of metal, when in contact with damp paper, is passed through a spool under pressure. This paper is rolled into a depression to receive ink. Therefore, the large-scale commercial imprinting is almost exclusively used for the printing of paper money. ^{[20] X Research Source}

Warning

If you are still unsure about your situation, contact an attorney to learn more.
Possessing, producing, using, or attempting to use counterfeit money is illegal under Federal Law. If a Court prosecutor can prove you are intending to commit fraud, or use counterfeit money, you could face up to 20 years in prison. Contact an attorney about circumstantial or circumstantial evidence that indicates you may have engaged in fraud. ^{[21] X Research Source}
Different states also have anti-counterfeiting laws. If you knowingly circulate counterfeit money, you may be charged with forgery, fraud, or other legal trouble. . ^{[22] X Research Source}

Steps