Desktop Counterfeiting

by Phlab

DISCLAIMER: I, THE AUTHOR, HAVE NOT DONE, OR ATTEMPTED TO DO WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ. THIS INFORMATION IS PURELY SPECULATIVE. THIS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION. I HIGHLY ADVICE AGAINST DOING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, AS IT IS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW. THIS ARTICLE, AND ALL OF ITS CONTENTS ARE PURELY HYPOTHETICAL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

After comparing a few different bills, one may realize that the $1 bill has NONE of the security features of any of the other bills. No security strip inside, no color-changing ink prints, no water-mark. The only thing the have are the little red-blue fibers, which would be easy to fake/are insignificant. The higher the denomination, the larger the security features. This article describes the basic methods to counterfeit 1 dollar bills at home.

The cheapest way to do it without photo-offset printing would probably be the following.

Step 1

Get a NEW, HIGH QUALITY scanner, and some high-end imaging software (not mspaint) such as Adobe Photoshop. Then get the image set up after scanning a crisp new bill, and touching the image up.

Then do several weeks worth of research. Go to any sort of paper store/place where you can buy stationary, post offices, book stores, etc within a feasible distance and look for the right paper. As close as possible. Actually pick up books, open them up, and have a feel. Books are printed of different paper, and you might just find something similar. You'll never find anything exact, unless you stumble upon a company that makes linen-paper. American bills aren't paper, they're cloth/paper.

Once a very close paper has been found, make a dye-wash, the off-color whitish/pale green color the actual paper is. Compare it with a real dollar bill, and make it exact (or as close as possible). Then apply it to a sheet of the selected paper. Now you should have a crisp piece of off-whitish paper that feels like a dollar bill and looks like the same color.

Wait for it to dry, and stick it in a HIGH RESOLUTION ultra-printer. Print onto your dyed paper using the maximum quality settings and hope for the best. If it turns out fine, great. If it doesn't, or even if it does, Crumple it up some. If you're unsure about it, set it and a normal dollar bill aside, out of sight for a few days. Wait for your mind to clear. Then uncover them both and do a re-comparison. If the fake bill is obvious, abort everything. Years in federal prison isn't worth the risk.

That seems like a lot to do for one dollar, but after you've discovered the right method, you would just do everything in bulk.

Now lets say you have a nicely cut stack of counterfeit 1's in your possesion. I'm one of those paranoid people when it comes to stuff that has to do with a huge punishment, so I would probably take out a floor-board or something. Put them somewhere secret. If by some chance an authority figure is in your home, they're not going to see your fake money. You'd want them to tear your house down before they find anything. The main point: hide it WELL. Get creative.

Part two: Using the money

At this point you'll have some semi-worn fake dollar bills laying around. The best thing to do is find some way to exchange it for the real deal. What I mean by that, is you need to go to somewhere where you can get 5 fake 1's exchanged into a REAL 5 dollar bill. Maybe someone you don't know too well, maybe a hot-dog stand or somewhere. Once you've exchanged (lets say 50 dollars starting out) into real 50 dollars worth of currency, you're in the clear. You can spend it anywhere.

If you don't want to do that, and want to spend the money directly, I'd be very careful. Not only are older store owners/loyal employees trained to detect counterfeit bills, but they also have bill processors that sniff them out. Example: If you're at a grocery store, go through some 14 year old's line. He doesn't know counterfeit from real, and even if he somehow detected it (which wouldn't happen if you made these right), he wouldn't give a damn. ALWAYS try to spend it at registers with kids. ALWAYS. I can't stress this enough.

Another method of low-risk spending would be to go during VERY busy hours. Example: a local cafe/bagel shop during lunch hours. There will be people in line everywhere, and the employees (pick the register with teenager(s)) will be looking to grab the money out of your hand and throw you your change ASAP. They hardly even look at it. And keep in mind, they shouldn't be able to tell it's counterfeit by glancing it over/counting the bills.

There we have it.

If you want to play it safe, I'd spend half counterfeit/half real money at the same time. I'll explain why in a moment

Part 3 - Getting caught

Let's say, for example, you don't properly make these and you're too ignorant to back out of this scheme. Some old bastard that owns a store finds out one of the bills you payed with is counterfeit, and pulls you aside. What do you do? WHAT do you do?

Act dumb. "Excuse me, did you know this bill is counterfeit" -- your reply? "What are you talking about? Let me see it... I had no idea, how can you tell if these are counterfeit or not? I got it as change for my 10 when I went to xxxxxx store earlier today"

Just make up some sort of bullshit like that. It's impossible to trace back to you. Hell if he knows how long it could've been in circulation. He knows that ANYONE could end up with a counterfeit bill.

Lets say he's an unreasonable person, and accuses you of doing it. He'll ask for your name and address. You can do one of two things:

1) "Fuck this, I have no idea what you're talking about, I didn't make this bill. You have no right to that information" and walk out. He doesn't know your name, and can't do shit about it. If he tries to stop you, physically, he just did a big no-no.

or

2) Give him your name and address and go home. Wipe your hard drive, and reinstall windows. Give your scanner to a friend. Burn any and all counterfeit money inside your house. Burn the paper used to make the money. Dump the dyes used to dye the paper down the sink. Chances are you'll have the FBI knocking on your doorstep within a few days. Even with small probable cause to search your house, the feds take counterfeiting SERIOUSLY.

My last and most important point that has to do with getting caught (I CANNOT PUT ENOUGH EMPHASIS ON THIS)

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TELL A-N-Y-O-N-E. Not your parents, not your girlfriend, not your best friend. Nobody. You'd be surprised how fast this can spread. I can wager that 85% of amateur counterfeiters get caught because of word-of-mouth. Resist the temptation to tell all your friends about it. When you're thinking about telling them, think about getting raped to death in federal prison. You want to keep your mouth sealed.

DISCLAIMER: I, THE AUTHOR, HAVE NOT DONE, OR ATTEMPTED TO DO WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ. THIS INFORMATION IS PURELY SPECULATIVE. THIS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION. I HIGHLY ADVICE AGAINST DOING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, AS IT IS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW. THIS ARTICLE, AND ALL OF ITS CONTENTS ARE PURELY HYPOTHETICAL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.