Methods and techniques of counterfeiting.

Methods and techniques of counterfeiting..

Methods and techniques of counterfeiting.

Shaposhnikov Yu.I.

Having familiarized ourselves with the main features of production and «secrets» of genuine banknotes, let us consider the most popular methods of counterfeiting. First, we will consider the methods of obtaining the main motifs of the image, and then we will move on to the details. Let us begin with the simplest, if not to say primitive methods. Note that this book is not a textbook on printing, and therefore we will consider only the essence of the main printing methods.

The days of criminal artists are long gone. Over the past 10 years, such a forgery has been discovered only once in Nizhny Novgorod. A citizen who could not find a better use for his talent took to drawing 50-ruble notes. And it must be said that he did it quite skillfully. He used ordinary capillary pens. For better color rendition, he squeezed the ink out of the pens, mixed it in the right proportion and refilled it. He copied the copy from the original by holding it to the light, through an ordinary window glass. The work was not fast, it took two days to make one note, but one could rightfully be proud of the creation. The notes turned out to be very similar, since the «artist» managed to buy goods with them at the nearest market. So that the reader could also appreciate the artist's talent, we provide an image of the front side of this note in Fig. 49.

Technological progress has changed the face of modern counterfeiters beyond recognition. There are fewer and fewer of them who are just «Kulibins». It is worth getting a decent computer with minimal peripherals — and you can put the production of counterfeits on stream. In early 1999, a criminal group of 7 people was exposed in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which was engaged in the production and sale of counterfeit 100-ruble banknotes of the Bank of Russia. This group included 6 distributors and 1 manufacturer. The banknotes were made on a PC in a private apartment. Counterfeiters spent 10 minutes on the production of 1 banknote. The quality of the counterfeits corresponded to the time spent on their production. The result is logical and sad. The court made an assessment of such activities. Now the entire company is, as they say, in places not so remote.

It should be noted that, with rare exceptions, counterfeits are printed on ordinary white «Xerox» paper. A significant portion of people «who know a thing or two about money» use the properties of paper as a criterion for distinguishing genuine money from counterfeits. Holding a known counterfeit in their hands, they usually very convincingly confirm their words with the characteristic crunch of a genuine banknote and the absence of such in a counterfeit. In this case, it remains a mystery to the authors why, in 60 cases of such counterfeits being sold by a group of counterfeiters, only one banknote was dubiously rejected by a taxi driver. The unique and characteristic properties of banknote paper are indeed one of the most important signs of authenticity, but as practice shows, one cannot rely on it alone. Banknotes, deteriorating over time, largely lose these properties.

Proceeding to the description of the methods used to make counterfeit banknotes, we remind you that our book is not a manual for a novice counterfeiter and we kindly ask you not to try to engage in this craft.

Drip-inkjet printer

This method of producing counterfeit banknotes should be recognized as the simplest and most accessible. The quality of printers of this type is constantly improving, approaching photographic quality, and the price is decreasing. The technology of drop-jet printing is becoming available to a very wide range of people and it should be noted that its quality is quite tempting to try to immediately pay off the purchased equipment by printing a dozen bills on it.

The main advantage of this method is its fairly accurate color rendering. The most significant disadvantage is that the inks usually used for printing are easily washed off with water if printing is done on ordinary paper. However, there are models (BubbleJet) that use liquid printing dyes and wax-based paints that are heated to a liquid state before starting work.

Conventional inkjet printers use a 3-color (rare, cheap models) or 4-color printing model. In computer terminology, a 3-color model is designated as CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow). In a four-color model (CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black)) black is added. Photographic quality printers use 6-color printing, the colors are cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta, black. Adding two light colors to the palette is due to the fact that in 4-color inkjet printing, dark areas are usually reproduced using a high density of dots, while in light areas the density and number of dots is significantly less. Thus, for light areas of the image it is not always possible to convey color transitions by changing the density of the dots, since they become visible, which creates the effect of increased graininess and reduces the clarity of individual details of the image.

Human color vision is based on a different color model, called RGB, which is based on the colors — red, green and blue. The printer reproduces the necessary colors, converting them into its color rendering model according to the algorithm embedded by the manufacturer, this process is controlled by the driver of the printing device.

The image in this printing method is formed by matrices of several dozen nozzles for each color, so the resulting picture consists of small dots of the specified colors.

The most widely used inkjet printers in Russia are from two companies — Epson and Hewlett Packard — and are based on two different principles — piezo printing and thermal printing.

The EPSON Stylus series of inkjet printers use a piezoelectric printing technology called MicroPiezo, which is based on the properties of a piezoelectric crystal. The printer's print head contains numerous very small piezoelectric crystals located at the base of the head's nozzles. Under the influence of electric current, the crystal can change shape, creating mechanical pressure in the nozzle, and thereby forcing ink to shoot onto the surface of the paper. For its EPSON Stylus Color 740 and EPSON Stylus Photo 750 devices, Epson declares a dot size of 45 microns, with an ink droplet volume of 6 picoliters, for EPSON Stylus Color 900 — a droplet volume of 3 picoliters, i.e. dots are 2 times smaller.

Hewlett Packard inkjet printers implement thermal printing technology. The ink cartridge contains multiple thermal generators. In each inkjet drop generator, a heating resistor quickly heats the ink contained in a small chamber to boiling point. A large air bubble gradually forms in the boiling ink, the growth of which causes the ink to be squeezed out of the nozzle. After approximately 3 microseconds, the bubble bursts and a breakaway and subsequent ejection of the already formed drop occurs. After the bubble collapses and the drop is ejected, surface tension forces draw a new portion of ink into the chamber. The HP DeskJet 970 Cxi color printer cartridge allows you to apply ink at a speed of more than 7.3 million drops per second, thanks to 408 nozzles, each of which is capable of operating at a speed of 18,000 drops per second.

The best models of inkjet printers achieve a resolution of 1440 dpi (dots per inch), which corresponds to 57 dots per mm. Thus, the distance between adjacent dots is about 17 microns (0.017 mm). The structure of the human eye is such that it is able to distinguish individual small elements of the image as long as the distance between them is 1500 times smaller than the distance from which they are observed. Consequently, individual dots of the image obtained on such a printer could be observed from a distance of less than 2.55 cm. All this is true, of course, for the case when the image really has 57 dots per mm, i.e. «purely» theoretically. If we consider these devices from the point of view of their use for the production of counterfeit banknotes, then such a parameter as resolution becomes essential, since the accuracy of reproduction of small details on banknotes mainly depends on it. We were unable to practically observe the parameters declared by the manufacturers of inkjet printers. For the study, 3 print samples were taken from different devices and measurements were taken, the results of which are presented in the table.  

Thus, the real resolution of such printing devices obtained on inexpensive special paper for inkjet printers is 1.5-2 times lower than the nominal one. For Epson Stylus Color 900 (which has the smallest dot size), the number of dots that can be located on a 1-inch line without overlapping each other is 781. When printing on regular paper (Data Copy), which counterfeiters usually use for their products, the dot sizes on the copy are significantly larger than those given in the table, if it is possible to distinguish a single dot at all. Taking into account the overlapping of dots of different colors during printing, it is obvious that it is practically impossible to reproduce such a security element of genuine banknotes as microprinting on such devices.

The dots on an image obtained by an inkjet printer are usually located randomly. If special paper is used for printing — the dots are of a regular round shape. When printing on ordinary paper — the ink spreads, the dots merge and overlap each other.

When examining a banknote printed on an inkjet printer closely, the dot structure of the image is usually clearly visible to the naked eye (see Fig. 59), especially in the area of ​​the coupon fields of the banknote.

Counterfeits made using an inkjet printer are considered low-quality counterfeits and are easily detected using a simple magnifying glass.

Electrophotography

This method includes color laser printers and copiers that work on the same principle. The method was started by Chester Carlson, who in 1939 in the USA patented a new method of photography, which he called xerography (from the Greek «xerox» — dry). Subsequently, the term «xerox» was patented by the company «RANK XEROX» and to this day should be used only for the devices of this company and the copies obtained on them.

The whole set of electrophotographic devices can be divided into two large groups (by the method of signal processing) — analog and digital. In the first case, the scanned image is projected using an optical system of lenses and mirrors, in the second — it is processed by a microprocessor system and converted into digital form, and then a laser beam deflected by a rapidly rotating polygon mirror projects the image onto a light-sensitive cylinder. At present, analog electrophotographic devices are morally and physically obsolete and have been practically displaced from use by digital ones.

The process of electrophotography is multi-stage. Initially, the photoreceptor is sensitized in a corona discharge. To do this, the photoreceptor is passed under a corona device in the dark. Corona devices are stretched wire or a spring-loaded comb. In this case, the surface of the photoreceptor is given an excess charge. If the photoreceptor is not illuminated, the charge can remain on its surface for quite a long time.

Then the image is exposed to the photoreceptor with light of the corresponding spectral composition, as a result of which photoconductivity of the layer appears in the illuminated areas and the charges flow through the metal substrate. In the unlit areas, the charge is preserved. This is how a latent electrostatic image is formed.

The image is developed when the photosensitive drum comes into contact with toner carrying a charge of the opposite sign. The toner particles stick to the areas of the photoreceptor surface carrying the charge, forming a visible image. Electrophotographic toner is a powder of black or colored low-melting resin or a mixture of powder and a carrier — glass, polymer or metal shot. Although the toner particles themselves are quite compact, in the aerosol state they tend to form conglomerates of particles that are not entirely controllable. Nevertheless, counterfeits made with color electrophotographic devices are so good that it is sometimes possible to read the microtext on them (see Fig. 62).

The powder image is transferred to the paper and fixed there. To fix the toner on the paper, the thermal power method is used, in which the copy passes between two heated rollers, the toner melts and is fixed on the surface of the paper, or the thermal method — the copy passes under an IR lamp. In this case, the toner melts and hardens without any mechanical impact.

In color copying, each color-separated image is developed with toner of one of the four primary colors (yellow, magenta, cyan and black), when they are superimposed, a full-color image is obtained.

The image obtained by this method is of very high quality, does not wash off with water and is distinguished by its brightness and richness of colors.

The most characteristic feature of the images obtained by this method is a shiny surface and insufficiently accurate color rendition. If you examine an image obtained on a laser printer with a magnifying glass, you can see that it consists of large colored dots (see Fig. 60 and 61), forming a characteristic raster; the linear structure of the image is often clearly visible. The dye lies on the paper in a fairly thick layer and often crumbles at the folds. For those tempted by the desire to use such equipment directly for a quick solution to financial problems, we inform you that all devices of the world's leading companies leave hidden marks on the images, forming a binary code. Companies also produce equipment that allows these marks to be read and deciphered. The result of the deciphering is the type of device. It is impossible to turn off the mechanism for leaving marks on the copy by software or hardware; such an attempt may lead to the failure of the device.

Electrography (Fake US dollars)
An image element of a counterfeit US $100 bill of the 1996 issue (SERIES 1996), made by electrophotography. The «step» structure of the image, typical for devices with digital signal processing, is clearly visible.

Counterfeits made with a full-color laser printer are also considered low-quality counterfeits and can be detected with a microscope or magnifying glass.

Screen printing

This is a method of printing from forms, the printing elements of which pass the paint through themselves, and the non-printing elements retain it. This method of printing is often called silk-screen printing. Usually, special fabric or metal meshes with a frequency of 60 — 140 threads/cm and a thickness of about 30 — 90 microns are used as the form material. Usually, non-printing elements are formed directly on the mesh using a photochemical method. Dry film photoresist, which is widely used in the electronics industry for the manufacture of printed circuit boards, can be used to make the printing form. The mesh is rolled up with photoresist on both sides, exposed and developed.

Microtext on genuine and counterfeit 100-dollar bills of the 1996 model
False	Genuine
The counterfeit $100 US bill from 1996 (left) was made using electrophotography.

The resulting form is placed on paper and covered with a layer of paint, which is then pressed with a rubber squeegee through the blank elements of the form and fixed to the paper. The diagram of the screen printing process is shown in Fig. 64. A characteristic feature of the resulting images is the significant thickness of the paint layer, the image can be felt by touch (as with intaglio printing), but the clarity of the image is very low. Upon careful examination of the image, you can notice jagged edges of the strokes, and upon magnification, their mesh structure, similar to parquet (see Fig. 65).

Counterfeits made using the screen printing method are low-quality fakes and are easily detected with a microscope or magnifying glass.

Flat offset printing

We have already outlined the essence of this method when we talked about the printing methods used in the production of genuine banknotes. This printing method involves the use of industrial printing equipment and, therefore, allows for the production of a fairly large number of «products». Note that there are two versions of this method — offset printing from rasterized and non-rasterized photomechanical printing plates. In rasterized offset printing, the image is formed from dots of several colors (as in inkjet printing), with the dots arranged symmetrically, in an orderly manner, and forming a characteristic raster. This method allows for the reproduction of any colors and shades, but it does not reproduce fine details of images well. Non-rasterized offset printing involves the use of available paints, so with a high degree of reproduction of fine details of the drawing, color rendition suffers greatly.

Reproduction of microtext on genuine and counterfeit dollar banknotes issued before 1996
Genuine	Fake
The counterfeit $100 bill from 1993 (right) was printed using offset printing.

Screened offset printing is often used to counterfeit Russian rubles that have multi-color images. Non-screened offset printing is the most common method of counterfeiting US dollars. Images obtained by non-screened offset printing are so professionally done that microtext is reproduced on counterfeit dollar bills without distortion (see Fig. 63).

Images obtained by offset printing are not washed off with water, the thickness of the ink layer is small, paper fibers are visible through it (see Fig. 66), there are no traces of pressure from the printing elements (no traces of paper deformation), the edges of the strokes have a smooth, sometimes slightly wavy border.

Counterfeits made by offset printing are considered to be of average quality and can be detected using a microscope or magnifying glass.

Changing the denomination of the banknote (counterfeits — «reworks»)

Fraudsters resort to this method in cases where people are not very familiar with the money or foreign currency in circulation. This method of counterfeiting is especially common in the first months of a monetary reform, after the appearance of new banknotes. In this case, it is extremely rare for all the inscriptions containing information about the denomination on a banknote to be changed. When counterfeiting Russian rubles, zeros cut out from another banknote are usually glued onto the banknote, and sometimes the text designation of the denomination is also glued on. Such changes are easily detected upon close examination and by touch. Cases of US dollars being altered in this way are not uncommon. As a rule, the denomination of 5 (often) or 10 (rare) dollar bills is increased. In this case, images of the new denomination are glued or drawn on with or without the preliminary destruction of the original denomination (see Fig. 55 and 56). When testing banknotes of «reworks», On a currency detector, the device usually lets such bills through, but the display shows that the denomination of these tickets is not 50 or 100, but 5 or 10 dollars.

In such cases, you can be advised to be more careful and not to conduct currency transactions in the entryway or around the corner with dubious individuals. You should also remember that by buying US dollars from a private individual, you are not committing a crime.

Counterfeits of the «SUPER» class

Super counterfeit — these are 100 and 50 dollar banknotes of different years of issue on paper, in quality and methods of image reproduction completely corresponding to genuine banknotes. This type of counterfeit is very difficult to recognize even using special devices designed to test currency. The differences between these banknotes and genuine US dollars are only in some minor graphic defects that can be detected only with a magnifying glass or microscope. In some cases, even an experienced specialist needs quite a lot of time to detect such a counterfeit. The production of such counterfeits — the process is very labor-intensive, requiring significant time and expense. There is no reliable data on the origin of super counterfeits, but it is safe to say that they are not printed in Russia. According to existing versions, they can be made in Iraq, Lebanon or North Korea. In order for the reader to have an idea of ​​the differences that allow us to identify these counterfeits, in Appendix No. 1 we provide 3 of the easiest to identify signs. For those who will try to find these signs in practice, we note that this requires a certain amount of practice and attention, since sometimes even an experienced expert has a hard time distinguishing the paint smudging and abrasions of a genuine banknote from the sign of a «super counterfeit» on a banknote that has become worn out due to long-term circulation. However, if you suddenly find any of these signs on a banknote you have, and the thought flashes through your head to «fix» the banknote and try to sell it, drive this thought away. Experts know significantly more of these signs, and this thought can cost you several years of your life, spent in a place that you would not like.

The described methods of counterfeiting banknotes cover about 95% of counterfeits in circulation. And since it is impossible to describe all possible methods of counterfeiting banknotes, and this book does not set such a task, we will now turn to the consideration of methods of imitating other security elements of banknotes.