Counterfeiting: How Fake Money Actually Works

Fake Money, Real Consequences: The Dark History of Counterfeiting. From ancient Rome to modern cybercrime, counterfeiting has shaped economies and fueled crime. How do fakes slip through? And can we ever stop them? Watch now!

Simon's Social Media:

Love content? Check out Simon's other YouTube Channels:

[bradlevantis]

This is all part of Simon’s series “How to Be a Successful criminal”

[Misstborn]

Small nitpick, but crypto does not make transactions "virtually untraceable, " it does quite the opposite. Every transaction is public information and can just be looked up, it's just that connecting the wallets to people can be more difficult

[Paul-ujbk]

In the early 2000's I received a fake $20 as change from a gas station. I wouldn't have even been aware had the bank not identified it while I was making a deposit months later. It looked so absolutely real that the tellers had thought that the bill counting machine had malfunctioned at first. The branch manager was apologetic and even nice enough to give me one of the currency test pens.
Not only was I out $16 (the test pen was worth about $4 lol), I got a home visit from law enforcement and my name was added to some kind of "watch list". It was all extremely embarrassing and I have been paranoid about cash ever since.

[mithterious]

As someone who works as a bookkeeper at a grocery store, I’ve seen a few fakes come through. Another trick counterfeiters use is using a small denomination bill, such as a $1 or $5, bleaching it, and then printing a $50 or $100 on it. It has the right texture and will pass a counterfeit marker test.

[tinkerstrade]

Don't make fake money when there's other things just as valuable to counterfeit as cash, but not nearly as scrutinized. From sunglasses to concert tickets to Pokémon cards, a lot of people sell a lot of fake everything.

[Sammael]

Oh yay, a new episode of "How to Crime"!

[bluicarys]

I used to oversee an archeology site in Romania dating to about 110 AD where we would sometimes pull up counterfeit as well as coins that seem to have been made by dissidents, as they had the faces of people they shouldn't have had.

[_ginock_]

I am pleased to see this can be linked to your money laundering video and gives a good follow up to the steps

[adammarktaylor]

Thanks for the "how to" guide! Just gotta remember to follow the Rules for Criminals at the same time!

[kurotsuki]

The material of the bills is why your money survives being left in your pocket when you wash your pants but your grocery list becomes mush.

[GrouchierBear]

Back when I was a gas station attendant, I was told that the counterfeit pens were worthless. They just reacted to wood based paper, and a counterfeiter could beat that just by buying specialty paper from the office supply store in town. The security elements described above weren't in every bill, since older US currency remains legal tender even if newer, more secure bills are in circulation. We were taught to rely on feeling for the texture of the ink, and double check any older twenties and up we got.

As far as I know, no counterfeits got past me, but I know a couple of tellers in the store we were attached to got hit. The most common target for counterfeit purchases were pre-paid debit cards, and those were all in the store anyway.

[tanukiginnyfizz]

Gives new meaning to the phrase "fake it 'till you make it"!

[alexhaladay]

I forget what news show I was watching, Maybe 60 minutes or CBS Sunday Morning and they had someone on who made bills for the United States. I forget his exact wording but he basically said, "The challange of our job is to make something too hard for other people make while we can do it on a mass scale."

[marknathaniel]

Back when I was running my own business and had a lot of cash exchanging hands somewhere or another a counterfeit $100 bill found its way in there. At the bank while trying to deposit my money it was discovered, the 18-year-old teller thought he was going to go all John McClane and stuff, waving for the security guard claiming he was going to call the police, I started laughing and looking for the manager as soon as I found her she put an end to all of it, but long story short is just like Simon said You don't get that money reimbursed by anybody, I literally just lost $100 for no reason and for no fault of my own, whoever's holding it when it gets discovered just eats it, either that or you pass it on and take that risk.

[zappababe]

6:05 "This type of ink is nearly impossible to fake with modern printing methods" - I'm smiling because I saw a documentary about a counterfeiter and he jurt used women's make-up for the colour shifting ink!

[pcfreak]

Honestly, I'd rather have a fake bill once in a while than to give up my privacy with digital cash. Even just the technical issues I had with it far outweigh the risks of paper money. I mean even in times of 3D-Secure etc. a merchant can still charge your credit card without any confirmation from your side. Sure you can claim it was fraudulent but it does not always work out and the hassle is just not worth it.

[owellorge]

Thanks for the tips. My empire will be stronger because of this video

[CabeGiuseppe]

OMG! You need to absolutely keep it! Whether it's true or not, this is special to you. People create packages, packages do not create people. Rock it girl, salute kislux !

[bryanparkhurst]

When I was a kid back in the 90s they had a magic $1 bill scam. It involved a real $1 bill that you attached packing tape to and were able to slip it into the vending machine and pull it back out and then hit the change button. I was introduced to the scheme but I never actively participated in it because saw a couple of my friends get arrested. The funny part is is that the people that come up with these get rich quick schemes could actually really get rich if they applied their criminal intelligence to legitimate enterprise.

[tonyahinrichs]

Counterfeiting was easier and more common with 90s and earlier bills. Most of the ones i came across were $10 bills. People check $20 but not usually tens