2005 Revised and Updated Educator's Guide to Curriculum, Technology, and Education Reform Authors: Amy Benish, Cheryl Cheifetz, Kim Darche, Pat Reed, Max Uhls |
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Introduction
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Desktop CounterfeitingWritten by Kim Darche, Technology Coordinator St. John Fisher School 17 year old, Jerry Downing, sat in class and watched his high school art teacher scan a $5.00 bill, enlarge it on a computer and use it as a class art project. He thought to himself, “Dang, that looks real.” The rest is a high schooler’s dream come true, he left school, used a relative’s computer, free photo editing software and a printer to turn the $20 bill in his pocket in a $1000. (Bushnell) The crime which was once the domain of skilled crooks using large expensive engraving and printing machines, has now given way to the mainstream. Any person with basic equipment and some skill can be a counterfeiter. Small counterfeiting operations around the world are using personal computers, PhotoShop and a $300 all in one scanner/printer/faxes to create much more than just currency from any country. The desktop counterfeiter are generating US treasury bonds, concert tickets, passports, visas, birth certificates and even grocery store coupons. Basically, there is no such thing as an “un-counterfeit-able” bill. Any currency or document can be reproduced and the reproduction does not even need to be done well, just well enough to fool the taker. The Secret Service, which oversees the integrity of United States currency started to recognize desktop counterfeiting as a true threat in 1993 when the a survey by the American Bankers Association survey found that banks reported more than 1 million cases of fraud and lost $813 million from counterfeit checks. This was a 43.5 percent increase from the $568 million in losses reported in 1991. (McClellan) And the reason for this rise...the diminishing cost technology while its quality enhances. As Secret Service continued to track the rise of desktop counterfeiting they presented their findings to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Banking and Financial Services on Tuesday, March 31, 1998. The committee convened to discuss “COUNTERFEITING USING PERSONAL COMPUTERS”. The Secret Service had discovered that the counterfeiting industry had moved from skilled experts into the hands of “suburban and teenaged computer hackers, or drug-dealing urban street gangs” using inexpensive personal computers (US) Dennis Lynch, special agent in charge, counterfeit division exposed the rise of desktop money making.
This is minimal compared to the $2 million counterfeit notes in 1991 and between $6 million and $8 million in 1992. At this rate it was estimated that by 2000, $2 billion ink-jet produced counterfeit bills could be filling our commerce The Government saw the remarkable growth as a call to arms. In an effort to head off the increase the Treasury department approved the first noticeable changes to US currency in 70 years. The new designs would include a: Watermark: a faint image, similar to the portrait, which is part of the paper itself and is visible from both sides when held up to the light. Security thread: also visible from both sides when held up to the light, this vertical strip of plastic is embedded in the paper and spells out the denomination in tiny print. Color-shifting ink: the numeral in the lower right corner on the face of the note, indicating its denomination, changes color when the note is tilted. For the new currency, this color shift is more dramatic. It changes from copper to green, making it even easier for people to check their money. cited from http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/main.cfm/media/deterrence Because the twenty dollar bill is still the most counterfeited currency due to its low tender and common usage, it was determined that bill should get the first facelift. In 2003 the new and improved $20 bill made its first appearance. However, has this stopped crafty desktop counterfeiters? No they just use old wrinkled versions of the bills. The Secret Service has begun pushing for harsher penalties, in terms of desktop counterfeiters. Currently the Secret Service can seize personal computers and other technology used to create the fake notes. They are soon hoping to tag scanners and printers to make it easier to locate the offenders. It is also possible that the penalties and jail time become harsher and more structured. Often punishment for the criminals is difficult as many of perpetrators at considered juveniles. The Secret Service wants to make is mandatory that the offenders relinquish the master print of their bill. However, this is difficult to contain, since within three clicks the print could be sent to millions via the World Wide Web. So teachers, the next time a student turns in a ten dollar bill for a field trip or pays for lunch in the cafeteria in a “funny looking” twenty, look it over twice. It just so happens that they might have just run it from a computer in the lab. Bibliography Bushnell, Chris. Junior Mint, Wave Magazine McClellan, Doug. Desktop Counterfeiting U.S. House of Representatives. Counterfeiting using personal computers, March 31, 1998 Last Updated: 08/02/2005 |
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