What to be aware of regarding forged notes?
- Thread starter Ripper
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Scan it with a modern scanner. A fake will copy perfectly, a genuine note will be picked up as currency and you will get a warning box on screen.
There are hidden markers in real notes which are very hard for counterfeiters to mimic AFIK.
There are hidden markers in real notes which are very hard for counterfeiters to mimic AFIK.
This is one of the best ways.
You dont have to wet it either as the ink never dries. This works on all UK notes. This is the method I used to use and easiest to do without having 007 gadgetry.
Yeah its called intaglio ink and the paint is thick enough to walk on. But the watermark is probably your best bet as forgers struggle to replicate this well.
Soldato
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Yeah i'd say about the same, very unreliable test if you ask me as forgeries could still transfer ink.
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It's just five dots. Not exactly hard but not many people know what they do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation
Slightly off topic, but have you noticed that if you pay for something with say £20 and the person checks the note in an over the top manner and then gives you notes as change that they get really annoyed if you check the security features on the notes they've given you? Why shoudln't we check notes given to us as change?
watermarks and foil strip are easy to fake.
the holograms can be faked relatively easily but won't look very good, so on a crisp note they look bad.
the raised printing is a good indicator - the high quality integlio printing that causes this is hard to fake and people usually don't bother.
they have infrared dyes on them but you won't have a detector so that won't help you.
the fluorescent dyes are a good feature - the yellow and blue fluorescent ones are easy to fake but the red fluorescent ones are harder as the dye is expensive to get hold of - its a europium complex - i've got a bottle of the stuff somewhere.
raised text/red flourescent/good hologram - its real. (or such a good copy only a bank machine will be able to tell the difference).
the holograms can be faked relatively easily but won't look very good, so on a crisp note they look bad.
the raised printing is a good indicator - the high quality integlio printing that causes this is hard to fake and people usually don't bother.
they have infrared dyes on them but you won't have a detector so that won't help you.
the fluorescent dyes are a good feature - the yellow and blue fluorescent ones are easy to fake but the red fluorescent ones are harder as the dye is expensive to get hold of - its a europium complex - i've got a bottle of the stuff somewhere.
raised text/red flourescent/good hologram - its real. (or such a good copy only a bank machine will be able to tell the difference).
The best way I've found is the microlettering. Not seen a fake yet that is printed well enough to get them right, thing is you need very good eyesight or a magnifying glass.
The majority, however, are quite obvious compared to real ones. Usually the colouring and the paper just don't look quite right.
The majority, however, are quite obvious compared to real ones. Usually the colouring and the paper just don't look quite right.
^ i forgot about that - the resolution of real notes is very very high due to the integlio printing. many of the swirls are actually writing if you look at them under a magnifying glass - there is no home printer available that comes anywhere close to that sort of resolution.
oh yeah - real note use non-fluorescent paper and you can't buy that, although a decent forger could find it if they where any good - most people just wash their notes in a washing machine and its instantly highly fluorescent and throws off most people - its also makes the notes look rough even though a note from a washing machine is still legal tender.
oh yeah - real note use non-fluorescent paper and you can't buy that, although a decent forger could find it if they where any good - most people just wash their notes in a washing machine and its instantly highly fluorescent and throws off most people - its also makes the notes look rough even though a note from a washing machine is still legal tender.
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Soldato
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With £50 notes, rub the red triangle on a piece of paper, if red comes off onto the paper, its real 
However
So scan using Adobe and it will show whether real or forged.
Strange the Wiki entry for Digimarc was removed in 2008. Guess they gave too much info away?
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Bank of England page which gives a few pointers.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/security/index.htm
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/security/index.htm
That isn't a perfect solution. I work with various different note validators and even the best ones can be fooled. Not often and not by most fakes, but it does happen. For example, a change machine (which usually have better note validators than quiz machines, AWPs and suchlike), was found to contain £800 in fake twenties. I've tested change machines with the good fakes and they took them. That caused some fuss, as it had been assumed all fakes would be rejected.