DHS Special Report | Secret Service stays on the trail of funny money

Once a crime committed by skilled professionals— albeit professional criminals— who put a lot of thought and effort into their work, the easy availability of sophisticated imaging software, and high-resolution color printers and copiers, has turned counterfeiting into an equal-opportunity temptation that requires no special skills.

Just last month, for instance, a highschool student in Florida was arrested after using a fake $20 bill at his school’s cafeteria. He said another student had manufactured $400 in counterfeit currency.

But standing in the way of wannabe counterfeiters is the Secret Service, which is using other technological advances to thwart and catch them.

Protective services
The agency, formed in 1860 specifically to combat bogus currency, continues to be the first line of defense against counterfeiting. Its twofold mission—to protect both the monetary supply and key government offi- cials—has evolved over the years to include investigation of financial crimes that reflect the digital age, such as computer and telecommunications fraud, electronic funds transfers and access-device fraud.

It was relocated to the new Homeland Security Department in 2003, but “operationally, there were no changes to our mission,” said agency spokesman Eric Zahren. “Our work in the area of cybercrime, identity theft, etc., stems from our core jurisdictions of credit card and access-device fraud.”

Of course, “counterfeiting [historically has been] our bread and butter, what we were founded for,” Zahren said. “The U.S. dollar is the most widely circulated in the world. ... There are countries ... where the dollar is preferred to their own currency because of its stability and security.”

Over the past 10 years, the agency has seen a significant change in counterfeiting.

“What we’ve seen in recent years is the creation of ‘digital notes’—that is, currency not produced through intaglio or offset printing but high-definition copiers,” Zahren said. “Ten years ago, it would have been less than 1 percent [of counterfeits caught]; now it’s over 50 percent.”

The shift toward digital notes is primarily in the United States, Zahren said; overseas, traditional counterfeiting methods are still much more common, in large part because they create higher-quality forgeries.

More news on related topics: Homeland Security, Management, IT Management