Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence

If You Suspect A Counterfeit

If you suspect a counterfeit note or have information about counterfeiting activity, please report it immediately to the U.S. Secret Service, or to your local police. For your convenience, our U.S. Secret Service Locator can help you find a Secret Service Agent in your city, or in a city near you - even if you're on vacation - in the United States and around the world. Please observe the advice which follows for your personal safety.

For your personal safety. . . PLEASE:

1. Do not put yourself in danger.
2. Do not return the bill to the passer.
3. Delay the passer with some excuse, if possible.
4. Observe the passer's description - and their companions' descriptions - and write down their vehicle license plate numbers if you can.
5. Contact your local police department OR call your local U.S. Secret Service Office. EMAIL US at this address, or contact the U.S. Secret Service through your local Field Office found in the U.S. Secret Service Locator.
6. Write your initials and date in the white border area of the suspected counterfeit note.
7. DO NOT handle the counterfeit note. Place it inside a protective cover, a plastic bag, or envelope to protect it until you place it in the hands of an IDENTIFIED Secret Service Agent.
8. Surrender the note or coin ONLY to a properly identified police officer or a Secret Service Special Agent, or mail it to your nearest U.S. Secret Service field office.

Please Note: There is no financial remuneration for the return of the counterfeit bill, but you will have pride in doing the "right thing" to help combat counterfeiting.

PLEASE Carefully Note These Features:

COLOR-SHIFTING INK: If you hold the new series bill (except the $5 note) and tilt it back and forth, please observe the numeral in the lower right hand corner as its color shifts from green to black and back.

WATERMARK: Hold the bill up to a light to view the watermark in an unprinted space to the right of the portrait. The watermark can be seen from both sides of the bill since it is not printed on the bill but is imbedded in the paper.

SECURITY THREAD: Hold the bill up to a light to view the security thread. You will see a thin imbedded strip running from top to bottom on the face of a banknote. In the $10 and $50 the security strip is located to the right of the portrait, and in the $5, $20, and $100, it is located just to the left of the portrait.

ULTRAVIOLET GLOW: If the bill is held up to an ultraviolet light, the $5 bill glows blue; the $10 bill glows orange, the $20 bill glows green, the $50 bill glows yellow, and the $100 bill glows red - IF THEY ARE AUTHENTIC!

MICROPRINTING: There is minute microprinting on the security threads: the $5 bill has "USA FIVE" written on the thread, the $10 bill has "USA TEN" written on the thread; the $20 bill has "USA TWENTY" written on the security thread; the $50 bill has "USA 50" written on the thread; and the $100 bill has the words "USA 100" written on the security thread. Microprinting can be found around the portrait as well as on the security threads.

FINE LINE PRINTING PATTERNS: Very fine lines have been added behind the portrait and on the reverse side scene to make it harder to reproduce.

COMPARISON: Compare the feel and texture of the paper with other bills which you know are authentic.