Newsmaker: Countering high-tech counterfeiters

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Another suggestion had to do with embedding things like little lenses into the bill.
Schafrik: That would be a similar kind of an idea from the plastic window. See the other thing is that if you have a very flat, nice surface--you would on some of these polymers--you could do some very fine printing or put in a very nice feature that is beyond the resolution limit in the foreseeable scanner, the digitized scanner. That would be another type of benefit that would detract from someone just trying to make a digital image of a banknote and print it out. It would take a lot more added steps to be a decent-looking counterfeit.

Some of this new technology, like some of the nanocrystal inks, would lend themselves quite nicely to a more sophisticated sensor that could be easily available in stores or banks.

Another idea that sounded intriguing would be using nanotechnology (to change the nature of the material in the banknotes).
Schafrik: Yes, that's exactly right. So we could conceive of these things but our frustration was we'd like to go to a lab and make up some sample notes and see if the reality kind of matches what the thought process was.

We did think of some vulnerabilities that maybe some of these ideas would have and we didn't want to explain in the report what those vulnerabilities would be, because we didn't want to create a counterfeiter's handbook, if you will, for a new feature that really hasn't been developed. So that was little bit of a quandary. We actually dropped some pretty neat ideas we had because on reflection we thought, well it would be almost impossible for someone to duplicate it exactly, but maybe it wouldn't be that hard for someone to do it good enough to pass only once.

As we look into the future, we could see more of an application for authenticating notes with some sort of an aid and not just with the human senses.

A scanner or reader, or something like that?
Schafrik: People are beginning to use some sort of assistive aid, some of these new features that we talked about in the report, that maybe only need a pen light or maybe a little grid that you can just slide across the note. If the right kind of pattern is printed on there, you'll see some marked effect by just that simple grid, or having infrared light that would make some special ink more visible, that sort of thing. The idea is it doesn't have to be something very expensive or sophisticated. On the other hand, some of this new technology, like some of the nanocrystal inks, would lend themselves quite nicely to a more sophisticated sensor that could be easily available in stores or banks.

There are scanners of some sort already in use--is that just for looking for the watermark or something like that?
Schafrik: That's right. It would be kind of the next step up from there. The problem with the watermark is, the clarity of the image is not high. One of our thoughts would be, what could be introduced into the banknotes would be the next-generation improvements on some of the features which already are in the note. In fact, one probably wouldn't want to make a dramatic change in the notes because we are pretty comfortable and used to our currency now. A dramatic change would be hard to sell to the public. You need public acceptance of these things.

The report also talked about the Internet being a threat. How so?
Schafrik: We said the Internet could be, and in fact it is being exploited now by counterfeiters. In fact, a few of our committee members went on to the Internet to see what they could learn about counterfeiting. And it was amazing, all the information that's out there, almost a recipe for how to do x, y and z, and where to buy supplies, and what's the best kind of equipment to use, and all this sort of thing. You could see as we go into the future and start putting more sophisticated features in the banknote that some of the smart bad guys would like to share that. So in that sense, we said we see the Internet as being a growing threat too.  

More Newsmakers

[Daabido]

Twenty years too late - Australia's already done it.

Australia introduced polymer banknotes in 1988.

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.csiro.au/science/ps7i.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.csiro.au/science/ps7i.html</a>

It has been a great success and the longevity of the notes seems
fine.

[Daabido]

More information about polymer notes.

Some more interesting information from NotePrinting Australia;
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.noteprinting.com/banknotes.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.noteprinting.com/banknotes.html</a>

[NoVista]

define counterfeiting ...

The U.S. national debt clock is approaching 9 trillion dollars. That's the good news. The real debt with derivatives is something around 71 trillion as of 2006.

That's a lot of dollars, even given they are ~Federal Reserve System~ fiat money.

I think it's kinda funny to be churlish about "Counterfeiters" when the Fed has been running a scam since 1913.

The chickens will eventually come to roost and the U.S. will be truly bankrupt.

[nickolius]

Don't want to reply about Australia however...

Reading the article it amazed me that many of the recommendations being made have been used successfully in Australia for near on 20 years (microprint, polymer, clear windows). The durability of polymer notes is great compared to paper. I've put them through the wash and drier multiple times and it causes no damage to the note. For the US to have been so backward in replacing the simple paper notes (when previously having been such a technology leader) is very hard to understand from outside.

[sandor_f]

No, it is easy to understand

As mentioned in the article, the USA has a very small problem
with counterfeit currency, therefore there has been little
historical need for drastic change in paper money.

The current system works well, but they are already looking
forward to new systems. Rather than, as you suggest, the USA
being behind the times and antiquated, i would suggest they are
actually doing quite well with the "old" way of printing money,
and are smply being honest enough to begin exploring the best
possibilities for the future *before* counterfeit currency is a
larger issue.

[rarpsl]

Conterfiting $1 Bills

The story states "Which are not a big deal for counterfeiters.
Schafrik: Yeah, it seems to be that way. If they're going to go through the risk, they're probably not going to risk a jail term for a $1 bill."

Tell that to "Mr. 880" the counterfeiter who DID for years print and pass $1 bills until he was caught. The story was even made into a Movie (called "Mr. 880" after the file number that was assigned to the case by the Treasury Department).

[hawkeyeaz1]

One more 'problem'

Research is underway for 'teleportation'.... or reproduction at the atomic level. Sure, it won't be available any time *too* soon, but when it does come about--and it is doable now, just highly impratical and prohibatively expensive, you will be able to duplicate a bill perfectly, no matter the protectioins.

But currency is pushing toward the electronics number rather than the paper numbers anyway, so much of the effort is soon to be moot.