With the rise in technology and counterfeiting techniques, countries are also trying to be
more vigilant with features such as serial numbers and watermarks.
This video will show you features of your bank account that you might not be aware of.
Some important security features that people don't really think about but can help to save
time, effort and even a lot more. Number 10 - Embossing Indentation
Just to throw a monkey wrench in the plans of potential counterfeiters, many mints also
like to include embossing in the production of their bills.
Especially for higher denominations. Embossing, or its opposite, Debossing, involves creating
a relief pattern that stands out physically from its background and can be easily identified
by feeling for bumps or raised surfaces. Normally this takes the form of intaglio printing,
which involves a metallic plate being pressed into the substrate of a bill with the desired
text or design while exposed to a high enough temperature to make the relief permanent without
damaging the bill itself. The effect is a note that doesn't feel entirely
flat and maybe bumpy and is quite often on Euro bills, like the five Euro, which has
an embossed main image and large value numeral as well as raised lines on the left and right
side. Canadian currency actually has its own system
of raised dots, on the upper right-hand corner of bills similar to braille.
And on the other side of the world, in catering to the visually impaired, India also followed
suit in 2015 by issuing new bills with blind friendly raised marks, indicating their denomination.
Number 9 - Micro Printing. Another useful security precaution, this technique
involves well as the names suggest, printing designs at a near microscopic level.
The idea being that the smaller the characters, the harder it would be for all, but the most
advanced printers and scanners to duplicate and invariably result in blurry or distorted
text. Micro text, as it is commonly called, is so
small that only specifically designed printers are able to pull it off and tend to use a
special ink called M I C R or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.
A good example of microprinting can be seen on the American $20 bill, in the lower left
border as it reads: United States of America 20 USA 20 and inside the inner ring of the
zero that reads USA. Number 8 – Eurion Constellation.
Otherwise known as Omron rings or donuts. This security protocol consists of five small
rings printed in contrasting inks, which depict the pattern of the Orion constellation.
These designs are often repeated many times in different configurations and can be predominantly
seen on many Euro bank notes, hence the portmanteau Eurion.
When a counterfeiter attempts to scan or photocopy said bills, these patterns are recognized
by software and prevents hardware from printing them.
This is one of the more secretive security functions in existence as the exact technical
details and its inventors have been kept secret. Though there is evidence that it might have
been developed by the Japanese owned Omron Corporation.
Here's just a few places you'll find this, it's on 10- and 20-pound notes and on American
$20 bills. As well as on the $2 bill from Singapore and on the back of $20 Canadian
bills. Number 7 - Substrate.
Yes, even the so-called paper used to print money is a security feature in and of itself.
I say so-called, since many bills are in fact printed on something.
That more closely resembles the clothes you are wearing.
For example, the material, the federal reserve uses for their money, known as rag paper is
made up of 3/4 cotton, and 1/4 linen, and is more durable than conventional paper.
As a result of the printing process, which subjects notes to many thousands of pounds
of pressure. It also contributes to a crisp texture that
can't be achieved by simple run of the mill paper.
If you find yourself in possession of a note, that doesn't feel quite right. There are counterfeit
pens available that you can purchase, which carry a substance that contains iodine, which,
when exposed to cellulose, the primary ingredient of normal paper will turn a dark blue indicating
a fake. A number of countries, including Canada, Australia,
the UK and Malaysia have recently adopted a synthetic polymer instead.
Which feels like plastic and is waterproof and more importantly, even harder to fabricate.
These plastic polymers are also more durable and cleaner than conventional paper notes.
Number 6 - Colour Shifting Inks. Almost all modern currencies also implement
colour shifting ink, in the printing of their money. Also called optically variable ink,
it's designed to refract light at different frequencies, depending on which angle it is
viewed from. On the American $50 bill for example, the
number 20 switches between copper or bright green, depending on how you tilt the bill
to the eye. The same can be viewed on the bottom of the
$20 bill, where colour shifting metallic flecks in the ink, produce a gold green contrast,
while the Eagle and shield image has been embossed with sparkly ink.
For counterfeiters, the problem is twofold. First conventional name brand scanners, and
printers can only produce text and designs at a fixed angle.
And second, there are only a handful of companies, who are permitted to manufacture the special
ink required. However, this wasn't a problem for Canadian
counterfeiter, Frank Bourassa who managed to forge nearly 250$ million in American bills
by relying on a cheap foil to mimic colour shifting ink
Number 5 - Red and Blue Fibres. Since 1879, a single company, Crane and Co
has been responsible for producing the rack paper.
Which American money is printed on. As we've already seen the makeup of the rag paper,
substrate is already quite difficult to manufacture. But in order to make counterfeiting even harder,
all bills also have tiny near microscopic blue and red fibres.
Yes, that's right! Your greenbacks aren't entirely green after all.
These randomized patriotic squiggles are actually added during the initial processing phase
of the paper and are therefore embedded in the bill.
Many counterfeiters attempt to mimic these by inking them in with very fine red and blue
pens. But even to the unaided eye, a phony bill
can usually be identified. Because of the reflection, indentation and
thickness that the ink creates. Number 4 – Planchettes.
another clever security feature that occurs during the manufacturing process is the inclusion
of Planchettes. You've probably noticed these on bills and
not given them a second thought, but they're almost as difficult to reproduce as red and
blue fibres. And they appear in a number of different currencies,
including Canadian money. Essentially, they are small, randomly placed
circular dots and are luminescent and will glow when exposed to UV light.
Because they're added to the pulp during the paper making process. In many cases, they
can be picked off. Conversely, on counterfeit bills, they are
often printed on and attempting to remove them will only scratch the bill.
Number 3 - Chopmarks. These are an older anti-counterfeiting technique,
which became popular in China during its expansion in the 1700, but they still show up occasionally
on other contemporary currencies. They often appear as Nicks or cuts on coins
to ensure they weren’t Plated fakes. But in other cases, there are stamps or punches
that helped vendors or banks to easily verify that a bill or coin was indeed genuine.
A money changer or bank would have its own unique stamp or punch often a secret symbol.
Later, if they encountered currency with the same mark, they would know it was one they
had originally marked as not a counterfeit. While this practice has mostly fallen outta
favor, examples of chop marks still show up on American bills occasionally.
Especially if you happen to have been traveling in foreign countries where they use the same
currency. Number 2 - Transparent Window.
With a number of countries switching to money made of polymer, one prominent security feature
is the presence of transparent windows in bills.
And these are nearly irreproducible. This is basically an advanced, modern take on the
watermarks you see on paper money. On the Canadian $20 bill for example, there
is a semi-transparent window. With a metallic picture of the queen as well as transparent
maple leaves and on the $100 bill similar transparent windows contain a hidden image
that matches the portrait. Lastly, all new bills also feature a small
window that when viewed up close against the background light source produces a hidden
number that matches the denomination. All of this taken into account makes it much
easier for banks and vendors to see through potential fakes.
Number 1 - Colour Optic Technology. Although not yet on the market, this is a
security feature that will hopefully appear on currency in the near future.
And was too cool not to include. You have to give kudos to the natural world for this
idea. Colour optic developed at Simon Fraser university
in Canada, is a new anti-counterfeiting measure that borrows from the blue morpho butterfly.
This insect is famous for the beautiful three-dimensional iridescence of its wings.
But that stunning color isn't reproduced by pigments. Rather the wings themselves have
millions of tiny holes in them, which trap light and then reflect back a specific frequency.
In this case, the shorter wavelength blue spectrum, when held up to a direct source
of light, like the sun, the blue morpho’s wings actually appear as almost transparent.
Color optic is attempting to do the same thing, by creating strips that have millions of holes
punched into them that are only 100 nano meters wide.
These strips could then be applied to bank notes and bills and would be virtually impossible
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