Unfortunately, the chance of getting fake money is there for almost everyone. False banknotes can get into your wallet from the store, where there are no detectors detecting the authenticity of banknotes, from the exchange office, and even from the ATM. Modern technology and the sharp mind of swindlers allow them to make counterfeit money, which is increasingly difficult to distinguish from the real. Let’s look at the main ways to determine which bill is lying in front of you – a fake or a real one.
How to distinguish fake money
Russian rubles
The main protection of the Russian ruble against counterfeiting is the watermark on the banknote. A real watermark should have a generally clear pattern, but with blurred outlines, that is, an uneven distribution of tones. The transition from dark colors to light should be smooth. To see the watermark, you need to hold the bill up to the light. Fake banknotes have almost no bright parts, the watermark is darker on them.
The next protection for the Russian ruble is protective thread, it’s a shiny silver color stitched through the bill. For example, in bills of 1000 rubles, at the bottom there is a figure 1, it should as though “come off” on a protective thread. With fakes on the contrary, the thread goes on top of the unit. Also on the 1000 bill it is important to look at the coat of arms of Yaroslavl – if you lift or tilt it, the bear should change its crimson color to golden green. The embossed text is also an important sign of a real banknote. Almost all inscriptions on the banknotes are made with it. On fake money, the paper itself is convex, and on the real – only the paint. And when you hold a real banknote in your hand you should not feel the roughness.
Be attentive and study these signs of distinction, because on one third of the counterfeit banknotes the security strip and watermarks are absent at all.
How to tell the difference between counterfeit money
American dollar
In contrast to the Russian rubles, the dollars to the touch should be rough. And the pattern of presidents stand out in relief. Portraits of presidents are the main protection against counterfeit dollars. Portraits and pictures of buildings should have superfine lines that are difficult to reproduce. The watermark on dollar bills should repeat the president’s portrait. Since crooks often draw extra zeros on bills, remember which president is depicted on dollars of different denominations:
1 George. Washington;
$2 – Thomas Jefferson;
$5 – Abraham Lincoln;
$10 – Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury);
$20 – Andrew Jackson;
$50 Ulysses Grant;
$100 Benjamin Franklin;
The front side of the dollar should have clear drawings, the lines are solid (no dots). The positioning of the letters and digits of the serial number should be strictly on one line. When you crumple the bills, they should crisp because they contain cotton and linen, which makes them dense and crispy.
How to distinguish fake money
Euro
It is more difficult to remember all the images on different euro denominations visually than on dollars. So remember one rule: the higher the denomination of the euro bill, the bigger it is. To the touch the euro bill should also crisp, it contains pure cotton. If it is a small bill, the hologram will be a strip, if it is a large bill, you will see a protective sign. With a certain tilt, the euro symbol and the face value of the banknote will be visible on the real euro. The watermark and the protective thread are certainly also present on the Euro.
If doubts remain as to which bill you are holding in your hands, take a real one and put two bills side by side. Armed with a small magnifying glass can easily identify a fake.
For more confidence in the protection against counterfeit money buy a pocket ultraviolet sensor, it will consider the ultraviolet hidden signs. With proper attention and vigilance, you can easily protect yourself from such a nuisance as counterfeit money in your wallet.
