You don’t want to wait until it’s too late to start sharpening your counterfeit detection skills. You don’t want to be a criminal’s latest victim of fraud. You want to avoid losses by rejecting counterfeit bills before they come into your possession.
With the proper counterfeit detection skills, you’ll be able to keep your business safe from fraudulent money.
Here are three ways to better spot those fake bills.
1. Know What to Look For on the New Polymer Bills
Although the new polymer bills are more difficult to forge, your cashiers should still know what to look for in order to spot counterfeit bills. Here are some of the things you should train your cashiers to check when accepting the newer polymer bank notes.
Touch the bill in order to feel its raised ink on the words “Bank of Canada”, the large denomination number, and the shoulders of the portrait.
Look at the large transparent window—it should contain a metallic building and portrait.
Compare the metallic portrait in the transparent window to the large portrait: the details should match.
Check for small numbers around the window—some will be in reverse; all will match the value of the note.
Check out the word “Canada”: it should be transparent but feel slightly raised.
Look carefully at the maple leaf border of the window. Some of the leaves should cross over and be transparent. There should also be a transparent outline on the frosted maple leaf window. There will be hidden numbers in the maple leaf window, too, if you look at it through a small light.
Flip the bill: the features of the large window will be repeated on the other side.
2. Don’t Forget to Know What to Look for on the Older Canadian Journey Bills!
If you don’t want to be defrauded, make sure your staff knows how to spot fake versions of the older bills, too. The older Canadian Journey bills are easier to counterfeit. Although some professional counterfeiters will use sophisticated techniques to try to fool unsuspecting cashiers, many of the counterfeits your employees will come across will be printed by amateurs, so they’ll be easier to spot.
Tilt the note to see the maple leaves and numbers change colours and the dashes change from gold to green.
Look at the note through the light to see a ghost-like portrait, which is visible from both sides. The note’s dashes will also turn into a solid line under light.
Feel the raised ink on the large number, “Bank of Canada”, and the shoulders of the portrait.
Irregular marks on the front and back of the bill will form a whole number that’s visible from both sides when held up to the light.
3. Counterfeit Detectors
Although it doesn’t take much skill on your part, using a counterfeit detector is an easy and effective way of spotting fakes. These counterfeit detection machines are designed to verify the intricate security features that are present on bank notes. As many of these features can’t be seen by the naked eye no matter how good your skills are, it’s best to have a counterfeit detector to help you tell the difference between fake and authentic bills.
The advanced imaging software in counterfeit detectors can verify the presence of the appropriate UV marks, infrared marks, metal threads, and watermarks that are difficult to counterfeit, even for the savviest criminal. However, regardless of how effective these devices are, they can break down or malfunction, which is why it’s important to also sharpen your counterfeit detection skills just in case.
