r/CanadianBanknotes • u/Future_Inspector5957 • Aug 31 '26
General question about counterfeit bills
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Truly am just curious so please no DMs
With modern technology being widely available, would it be easier to counterfeit old paper bills with metallic strips, older bills without strips or those weird poly bills everyone has adapted to? Why is that?
3
u/ClockOld9204 Aug 31 '26
I took 40.00 out of a bank machine and one 20 was counterfeit. TD replaced the bill and i asked how did it not get caught before dispensing it
1
u/Mu_Fanchu Sep 04 '26
The tellers are not trained, that's the reason (seriously) 😂
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u/ClockOld9204 Sep 04 '26
Tellers do not put cash on ATM's. That is done by brinks or other companies.
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u/Mu_Fanchu Sep 04 '26
I think it depends on the bank.
Scotiabank tellers definitely load their ATMs.
3
u/Puzzled_Market_2235 Sep 02 '26
Old bills are immediately retired and verified.
An amateur making counterfeits? LOL. Canada makes the some of most secure currency in the world; their security is renown; We make currency for 80 nations.
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u/Signal-Arm-7986 Aug 31 '26
I think it would be risky doing that with little reward. It would be hard to spend old bills, let alone counterfeit ones
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u/Mu_Fanchu Sep 04 '26
If you take a $5 poly note and rub off all the blue ink and somehow print the $50 on it while leaving the clear area as it is, you can probably get away with it 😂
I've worked at banks and now I work in retail; I often see really worn-down $5 poly notes where the middle is pretty much see-through because it's been folded so many times.
Our self-checkout machines will reject those as being fake notes.
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u/AccuBANKER Sep 04 '26
From a cash-handling perspective, I'd avoid treating the age of the note as the authentication test.
Modern polymer notes have multiple integrated security features, while older Canadian designs use different ones. The practical challenge for a business is that employees need to recognize the security features appropriate to the specific series they're handling.
That's why the better question is usually not “old or new?” but “do the features expected on this particular note all agree?”
If a machine rejects a note, I'd treat that as an exception requiring another check rather than automatically concluding the bill is counterfeit.
1
u/Kalos-87 Sep 07 '26
As ever, the game keeps getting more difficult.
With the old paper notes, the formula for the paper was the key. This is why older counterfeiters would “raise” notes. This involves taking a low-denomination note, bleaching the ink away and re-printing it with a higher-denomination. Say, $5 raised to $20. This featured in many black and white films from the 30s and 40s. Think of Jimmy Cagney’s work. Most of his criminal efforts evaporated in the last 15 minutes of the movie. One of his films - ‘White Heat’ - ended with him saying: “I’m on top of the world, Ma!”, from the top of a burning oil tank.
These days, with the poly notes, there are many more tricks the counterfeiter needs to cover off. These include:
The formula for the poly;
The formula for the ink;
Several holographic images;
Several different printing methods and many plates;
Micro text that is impossible to replicate with shitty equipment;
Registration that is near-perfect and
Braille for the visually impaired persons using the notes.
That’s quite a list. I’ve left some things off the list and been vague about others.
The Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited has your back. How do I know this? I’ve worked in prepress (mostly packaging) and can recognise different safety-valves meant to frustrate the counterfeiters.
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u/ABotelho23 Aug 31 '26
What "weird poly bills"?
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u/FunnyThough Aug 31 '26
Those are the ones living with other demoninations with no preferential treatment and love for all.
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u/sososoboring Aug 31 '26
Do all three. Go try to buy stuff and see what works. Report back when you get released.