Counterfeit Detection Pen - Safescan 30 | Safescan (2024)

FAQs

Do counterfeit money detector pens work? ›

When the pen is used to mark genuine bills, the mark is yellowish or colourless. Such pens are most effective against counterfeit notes printed on a standard printer or photocopier paper. The chemical properties of US banknotes printed before 1960 make marking pens useless, resulting in false positives.

Simply make a small mark on U.S. currency. Chemically sensitive ink works instantly. An amber mark passes the test, while a dark brown or black mark means the bill is probably counterfeit. Works on all new design U.S. currency bills series 1959 and later.

No – detector pens don't spot counterfeits printed on polymer. Should I use a banknote checking machine? All of our notes can be authenticated by look, tilt and feel. If you choose to use a machine to check banknotes, make sure it can spot the latest counterfeit notes.

According to the Federal Reserve, counterfeit detection pens are not always accurate and may give you false results making them not the most proactive way to detect counterfeiting. The iodine-based ink used in detector pens reacts with starch in wood-based paper to create a blue or black mark.

Examine the serial numbers.

Make sure that the serial numbers on a bill match, and look at them carefully. Fake bills may have serial numbers that are not evenly spaced or that are not perfectly aligned in a row. If you received multiple suspicious bills, see if the serial numbers are the same on both bills.

It's reassuring to know that all banks have a set of security measures in place to detect and confiscate fake money.

What color does a counterfeit pen turn? A counterfeit pen reacts to the starch found in most types of paper. Genuine U.S. currency is printed on paper that does not have starch. Therefore, if the bill is genuine, the ink will turn yellow and if it's fake, the ink will turn black or dark blue.

Thus, even a properly functioning counterfeit detector pen is, at best, limited in its function of detecting counterfeit bills. It will only detect bills printed by the laziest and least sophisticated of counterfeiters. Another downside of counterfeit detector pens is that they are subject to misinterpretation.

Key Takeaways: Making or using fake money is a serious crime that can get you up to 20 years in jail. Both federal and state laws punish counterfeiting, and fines can be very high. You must know the money is fake to be guilty; if it's an accident, you might not be charged.

Hold the note to light to see an embedded thread running vertically to the right of the portrait. The thread is imprinted with the text USA 50 and a small flag in an alternating pattern and is visible from both sides of the note. The thread glows yellow when illuminated by ultraviolet light.

How to check if money is real with UV light? ›

Security Thread All genuine FRNs, except the $1 and $2, have a clear thread embedded vertically in the paper. The thread is inscribed with the denomination of the note and is visible only when held to light. Each denomination has a unique thread position and glows a different color when held to ultraviolet (UV) light.

All you need to do is mark the banknote and in less than 2 seconds you will know whether it is a suspicious bill. When marking a genuine banknote the mark will become clear or yellowish. If the banknote is not genuine, the mark will turn dark brown or black.

And most real counterfeiters aren't buying stuff like this. They're bleaching small denomination bills to get the right paper, and then printing larger denominations on it. So these pens are one of the weakest methods of counterfeit detection for a number of reasons.

The best way to determine whether a note is genuine is to rely on the security features, such as the watermark and security thread. Counterfeit detection pens are not always accurate and may give you false results.

These counterfeit money pens contain a special chemical solution that does not react on paper money but does react on conventional paper. When you mark a counterfeit bill, the ink changes color and warns you that the bill is suspicious. This counterfeit marker can be used for paper banknotes (e.g. USD, EUR).

Security Thread

Hold the note to light to see an embedded thread running vertically to the left of the portrait. The thread is imprinted with the text USA TWENTY and a small flag in an alternating pattern and is visible from both sides of the note. The thread glows green when illuminated by ultraviolet light.

Banknotes are printed with inks that are invisible to the naked eye but display special characteristics under infrared light. Counterfeit detectors such as the D40 use infrared reflecting and absorbing sensors to automatically verify the specific infrared characteristics unique to each denomination.

If you are an individual, submit suspected counterfeit currency to your local police department. Police departments, banks, and cash processors will submit suspected counterfeit currency to the Secret Service.