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Last March, the US Secret Service warned all
banking corporations of several South American countries that there appeared in
circulation, even in ATMs, counterfeit $50 and $100 American dollar bills. They
are of an excellent quality in paper, texture, inks, and printing, all of which
make them difficult to identify.
Banks, currency exchanges, and all types of
business interests that operate with American money opted to freeze the
acceptance of any $100 bill of Series CB-B2, year 2001 and all $50 bills, series
AB, year 1996 for an indefinite period of time.
The damage is becoming unsustainable for savers, businessmen, and investors and other possessors of legitimate banknotes, both legitimate as well as counterfiet, of certain frozen series, preventing their capital to be converted into cash. Some will try to circulate them in a fraudulent manner, running the risk of jail while others will hold on to them "in hopes that something will happen." The favorite ones are those holders of stable current accounts who may be able to respond with the deposit of questionable dollars until the U.S. Mint declares their legality.
The instigators of this fraud
could be members of a Pakistani band who has been noted for illicit activities.
The U.S. Secret Service knows them; its center of operations is mobile and
difficult to detect.
According to reliable
information the quantity of banknotes distributed in South American countries is
not so high as to damage the fragile, economic systems of the region, but there
is no local nor governmental Institution that will resolve losses that this
counterfeiting may produce.
(El Mercurio, Santiago de Chile, April 13, 2005).
The author of this article participated in a counterfeit banknote detection test with the help of experts and a strong magnifying glass. They were able to recognize small accidents that identified them as being different from the real notes. (Expreso, Lima, Peru, May 8th), citing these pieces of evidence:
1. Washington's figure in the center of the banknote face is darker than the legitimate ones.
2. The security threat is thin.
3. The face in the watermark is not very complete and is shifted to the right.
4. The upper arch of the letter"N" in the world "NATIONAL" on both sides of the banknote is open.
This counterfeiting does not
affect banknote collectors, but it does for people who cancel transactions with
American dollars.
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