Counterfeit $100 Bills that Are Impossible to Detect, and How to Spot Fake Money

The US Secret Service is warning businesses and residents in the state of Hawaii about $100 counterfeit bills that look and feel like the real thing, but are actually completely fake. Recently, gangs in Los Angeles, California have been charged with counterfeiting over $4 million in fake cash, and some of that money is turning up in the 50^th state.

According to people who have seen the bills, they are printed on paper that looks and feels just like the cloth paper that the U.S. Treasury uses to print real money. It even has what looks like blue and red fibers in the paper, although it's printed on and not woven in like in real currency. However, it is impossible to tell at first glance that the bill you are holding is $100 of nothing!

Usually, when using a large bill at a store to buy something, the cashier at the checkout stand will use a special marker that turns brown if used on a fake bill. However, these new fake $100 bills are coated in a special chemical that renders the fake-bill-identifying markers useless.

How to Spot Fake Money:

Look for a watermark behind the head on the bill, security threads woven into the fabric (not printed on it), as well as clear lettering and printing.

The Secret Service says that "Each denomination, regardless of class, has a prescribed portrait and back design selected by the Secretary of the Treasury.

A real portrait looks lifelike. The Secret Service says that a "counterfeit portrait is usually lifeless and flat. Details merge into the background which is often too dark or mottled."

On a real dollar, the Treasury Seals are printed clearly and look sharp. The Secret Service says that "counterfeit seals may have uneven, blunt, or broken saw-tooth points."

The border on real money is unbroken. The Secret Service says that "on the counterfeit, the lines in the outer margin and scrollwork may be blurred and indistinct.

Serial numbers on real money have a unique font and are spaced evenly on the bill in the same color as the seals. "On a counterfeit," the Secret Service says, "the serial numbers may differ in color or shade of ink from the Treasury seal. The numbers may not be uniformly spaced or aligned."