Counterfeiting - Bigbusiness - Big Penalties


by The Anxiolytic - Date: 2010-09-17 - Word Count: 638 Share This!

For the record here are some facts about counterfeiting U.S. Currency: The Counterfeit Detection Act of 1992, Public Law 102-550, in Section 411 of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations, permits color illustrations of U.S. currency provided: a) the illustration is of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of the item illustrated, b) The illustration is one-sided, and c,) all negatives, plates, positives, digitized storage medium, graphic files, magnetic medium, optical storage devices, and any other thing used in the making of the illustration that contain an image of the illustration or any part thereof are destroyed and/or deleted or erased after their final use.
Any other images of U.S. Currency are illegal and counterfeiting them carries stiff penalties of up to $1.75 million dollars in fines and long prison terms.

All U.S. currency is printed on non-commercial 22 pound paper and is manufactured at Crane Paper Company in Dalton, MA. The paper contains a polymer strip one-sixteenth of an inch wide and two and three-quarters of an inch wide. The strip glows different colors when it is exposed to certain bands of light. The paper is about 75% cotton and 25% linen, but the exact proportions are unknown. The paper is water resistant, but the ink on it never dries. The ink can be transferred to plain white paper for testing. The ink is placed on the special paper with Intaglio presses, which cost millions of dollars to purchase.

Other Obligations and Securities
Photographic or other likenesses of other United States obligations and securities and foreign currencies are permissible for any non-fraudulent purpose, provided the items are reproduced in black and white and are less than three-quarters or greater than one-and-one-half times the size, in linear dimension, of any part of the original item being reproduced. Negatives and plates used in making the likenesses must be destroyed after their use for the purpose for which they were made. This policy permits the use of currency reproductions in commercial advertisements, provided they conform to the size and color restrictions.

U.S. Postage Stamps, Foreign Postage Stamps and Revenue Stamps
Printed illustrations of United States and foreign stamps are permissible for any non-fraudulent purpose. Black and white illustrations of un-cancelled United States and foreign postage stamps are permissible in any size. Color illustrations of un-cancelled United States and foreign postage stamps must be less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half times the size of the genuine stamp. Canceled United States and foreign postage stamps may be of any size whether the illustrations are in color or black and white.

While much counterfeiting is done for purely financial gain, there have been marked instances of counterfeiters attempting to devalue currency, cause inflation, and destabilize governments by flooding the market with counterfeited money. North Korea sent tens of millions of dollars' worth of fake $100 bills into the U.S in an effort to destabilize our currency. The U.S. retaliated by freezing some $25 million in North Korean assets in the U.S. as a counter measure.

Still, it is estimated that counterfeiters print hundreds of billions of dollars each year worldwide. The cost to the U.S. economy is estimated to be between $200-250 billion per year, but this figure has been in decline due to increased law enforcement and changes made to U.S. currency.
Counterfeiting is a much more lucrative enterprise Europe where steady increases in counterfeit currencies have occurred in France, Spain and the Netherlands and other nations using the Euro. Russia has also seen a significant rise in counterfeiting, as illegal operations increased the number of counterfeit pieces nearly seven fold in ten years.

Overall, you would be much better off to get your money the hard way - earn it. Tomorrow learn how counterfeiters are making lucrative businesses copying other items and its cost to you.

Related Tags: money, finance, credit card, banking, banks, cash, debit card, checks, checking accounts

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