PHONY MONEY NOT FUNNY ANY COMPUTER OWNER CAN BE COUNTERFEITER NOW.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer Advances in home-computer systems have turned counterfeiting into a cottage industry cottage industry: see sweating system. , with amateurs using high-tech scanners and printers to produce millions of dollars in phony bills, officials say. Just last year, the U.S. Secret Service confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. $1.4 million in counterfeit bills it says was printed by ``amateurs'' using equipment readily available in any computer store. That represents a 530 percent increase over the $222,066 confiscated in 1996. At the same time, the federal agency confiscated $4.8 million in fake bills produced by ``professional counterfeiters'' on large-scale printing presses, an 85 percent jump over the $2.6 million seized in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, in 1996. Agents estimate that up to $100,000 in counterfeit cash is passed every week in Southern California. Buyers of counterfeit money can pay up to 50 percent of the face value of the bills - the better the quality, the higher the price. And with advances in computer technology, producing a high-quality fake is becoming easier, agents say. ``You can literally just put a bill on the machine and print,'' said Philip Elston, the assistant to the special agent in charge of the Secret Service's counterfeit squad. ``It's that easy.'' The trend is nationwide. Amateur counterfeiters across the country distributed an estimated $15 million in phony bills, a 488 percent jump from the 2.6 million distributed in 1995, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Secret Service. Agents are currently investigating a counterfeiting operation suspected of producing more than $200,000 a year in phony $20 bills using an inkjet printer A printer that propels droplets of ink directly onto the medium. Today, almost all inkjet printers produce color. Low-end inkjets use three ink colors (cyan, magenta and yellow), but produce a composite black that is often muddy. . The money is being sold to gang members in inner-city areas of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ``It's a large-scale distribution,'' Elston said. ``Hundreds of people are involved. To thwart counterfeiters, the federal government plans to release a new $20 bill next month with additional security features - including a small watermark watermark: see paper. See digital watermark. , a plastic strip, microprinting Microprinting is one of many anti-counterfeiting techniques used most often on currency and bank checks, as well as various other items of value. Microprinting involves printing very small text, usually too small to read with the naked eye, onto the note or item. and color-shifting ink - making it harder to replicate. ``You can't use your color copier/printer to make this one,'' Elston said. ``But the crooks are good. They'll catch up.'' The federal government also is trying to crack down on high-quality counterfeit bills produced in South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and smuggled smug·gle v. smug·gled, smug·gling, smug·gles v.tr. 1. To import or export without paying lawful customs charges or duties. 2. To bring in or take out illicitly or by stealth. into the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . The most common - a counterfeit $100 bill printed in Colombia - has a watermark and embedded fibers and is almost indistinguishable from the real thing, agents said. More than 500 people have been arrested and $105.5 million in Colombian notes has been seized in Southern California since 1986, officials said. Despite the Secret Service's efforts, counterfeit bills still find their way into the public's hands. Several fake $20 bills were used to buy snacks at a recent Taft High School football game, leaving the school's booster club short when the counterfeits were discovered. ``I'm angry,'' club treasurer Helene Apper said. ``We're a nonprofit. We try to raise money for the kids.'' The problem is even more critical for retail stores. ``We eat it,'' said Bob Davis, the manager of the Target store in Burbank. ``We try to train our employees as much as possible, but if someone wants to do it, we can't get all of it.'' Banks try to weed out counterfeit bills from their daily deposits, as does the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco. ``We process about 12 million notes a day,'' said Tom Waldman, a Federal Reserve spokesman. ``We serve 800 financial institutions. If we think a bill may be counterfeit, we contact the U.S. Secret Service.'' Jason Kandel, (818) 713-3664 jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Taft High School booster club treasurer Helene Apper inspects a counterfeit $20 bill her concession stand received. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer (2 -- 3 -- color) Investigative Assistant Lorilynn Ponce examines counterfeit money at the U.S. Secret Service office in Los Angeles. Right, that's a real $100 bill on top. The second bill is counterfeit, and the bottom one was produced in Columbia. Box: (1) FUNNY MONEY (2) HOW TO DETECT COUNTERFEIT MONEY SOURCE: United States Secret Service Daily News |
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