When you handle cash, you face certain risks. You have to worry about money going missing, getting stolen, or being inaccurately counted, sorted, or stored. Another serious risk to consider is counterfeit money. With digital printing technology on the rise, counterfeit bank notes have become more sophisticated and easier than ever to create, making counterfeit detection more important than ever.
You must protect your company and your bottom line by using counterfeit detection methods to check all incoming bills for fraud.
Here are three ways to detect counterfeit notes.
1. Feel, Look, and Flip
The first of three ways to detect counterfeit notes is the feel, look, and flip method of detection.
Authentic Canadian bank notes are embedded with security features, not only to make them more difficult to counterfeit, but also easier to verify.
For the new polymer bank notes, there are nine security features to check against counterfeiting using the feel, look, flip method. These include raised ink, transparency in the large window containing a metallic building and portrait, matching small and large metallic portraits, a colour-changing metallic building when the bill is tilted, small numbers in the window that match the denomination of the bill, transparent text, a maple leaf border, a frosted maple leaf window, and hidden numbers.
For the older Canadian Journey Series notes that are no longer being produced but are still in circulation, the security features include a metallic stripe when the bill is tinted, a ghost image of a portrait, colour-changing dashes, a puzzle number that aligns when held up to the light, raised ink, and UV features.
Though the feel, look, flip method is a great first line of defense, one that all your employees should know well, nearly perfect sophisticated counterfeit bills can slip through the cracks if you’re only relying on this method.
2. UV Counterfeit Detector
The second of the three ways to detect counterfeit notes is the use of an ultra-violet, or UV, counterfeit detector. This is a popular option for many business owners because these types of counterfeit detectors are inexpensive.
A UV counterfeit detector works by detecting the UV-fluorescent phosphors used on authentic bills. The phosphors produce a reaction when placed under the UV light, but remain hidden when viewed under normal lightning conditions. The UV ink changes its appearance and can then be easily seen by the human eye under UV light.
Though using a UV counterfeit detector is an extra layer of protection, it’s not completely accurate as it only detects one type of the many security features placed on bills.
3. Automatic Counterfeit Detector
Lastly, the third of the three ways to detect counterfeit notes is the use of a state-of-the-art automatic counterfeit detector. With the inexpensive UV note detectors, your employees are still required to make a judgement call on the authenticity of the bill and other security features are not verified.
But with an automatic counterfeit detector, all security features are verified with magnetic detection, UV detection, watermark detection, and even size detection to ensure that your results are 100% accurate. Plus, the machine rejects the bills for your employees, so they don’t have to make the judgement call. It’s configured with advanced imaging software in order to detect the exact features and dimensions of bank notes, making it the most effective way to detect counterfeit notes today.
Knowing how to detect counterfeit notes and what to look for is only the first part of the battle. Although you certainly want to ensure that your employees have sharp counterfeit detection skills, the use of counterfeit money detection tools, such as UV detectors and automatic counterfeit detectors, can ensure that you’re fully protected against counterfeit. They’ll give your employees the extra help they need in identifying counterfeit notes.
