DA Rice Offers a Few Simple Tips to Help Identify Counterfeit Money

Rice: If you think you have a fake bill, call the police

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is encouraging consumers to look closely at their money to ensure that they do not unknowingly accept or pass off any counterfeit bills. On Thursday, District Attorney Rice provided the community with a few simple tips that residents can use to avoid getting stuck with a fake bill. Rice also provided instructions for what residents should do in the event that they do inadvertently possess counterfeit currency.

“Counterfeiters get better every day, so it is up to the criminal justice system and sharp-eyed citizens to ensure that phony money is quickly identified and taken out of circulation,” Rice said.

Rice added that by following these simple tips, counterfeit bills can be identified and removed from circulation:

• Look for differences, not similarities. A good counterfeit will look nearly identical to a real bill. But one difference means it’s probably a fake.
• Feel the texture of the bill – Genuine currency’s feel has intentionally not been changed for decades, and has raised ink.
• If you are suspicious, compare your bill to another bill of the same denomination. Hold the bills side-by-side and look for any differences.
• Look for printing errors, such as blurry or smudged areas, broken borders, and poorly defined Treasury and Federal Reserve seals. Portraits on genuine currency are also very detailed and sharply defined.
• Closely examine large denominations, like $100 bills, that are used to make small purchases.
• Look for colored strands. All U.S. currency has red and blue fibers embedded in it.
• Hold it up to light and look for the watermark. The watermark portrait should match the portrait on the bill. Counterfeiters will bleach a bill and reprint a larger denomination over it, so make sure the portraits match. New $5 bills have a “5” watermark instead of Abraham Lincoln’s portrait.
• Examine the serial numbers and make sure that they are properly spaced and matching.
• Genuine currency in denominations of $5 through $100 each contain several security measures that are difficult to reproduce, including an embedded plastic strip that has “USA” and the bills denomination printed on it and color shifting ink that alternates between green and black or copper depending on the angle of light.

What to do if you are inadvertently in possession of counterfeit currency

Rice said that residents who find themselves to be in possession of a fake bill should immediately call the police. Inadvertent and unintentional possession of counterfeit currency is not a crime, so long as residents call police as soon as they find the bill.