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How Can You Tell if Money Is Fake—Before You Get Duped?

Updated on Jul. 23, 2025

It's easy to spot fake money if you know what to look for

Fake bills, unsuspecting victims

You’re manning the booth at the school bake sale or farmer’s market, and someone hands you a $20 bill. It feels a little too slick, the color seems a little off—but you don’t think much of it, and stick it in the cash drawer. Later, at the bank, you find out it’s fake. Just like that, you’re out twenty bucks. How do you know if money is fake? Most of us have no idea until it’s too late.

Reader’s Digest spoke to three security and anti-counterfeit experts who deal with phony cash every day to share the easiest ways to spot a fake bill before you accept it, or worse, try to use it. Here are some tips that can save you from a costly mistake.

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Money
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Get a feel for it

One of the first things you might notice about a counterfeit bill is that it just feels … off. “They tend to be more glossy or have a more smooth feel,” says Trent Everett, assistant director of the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information at the United States Secret Service. Unlike the cotton-linen blend that real dollars are made of, fake bills are often made of high-quality paper, according to Susan Fortunato, assistant chief of the Counterfeit Branch at the Secret Service.

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Look at the color

Counterfeiters typically use an inkjet printer to print fake money, so they can have a hard time getting the color just right. The color might be brighter than it should be, but typically the phony dollar bills will look a bit too dark, says Alex Reichman, founder of counterfeit detection and security solutions company iTestCash.com.

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Test the color-changing sections

Take a look at the denomination number in the bottom right corner of a $10, $20, $50 or $100 bill. It should appear copper when you hold it straight up and down. Now tilt it 45 degrees away from you—the color will change to green on a real piece of U.S. currency. If you happen to have a $100 note, pay attention to the brown picture of the Liberty Bell over a lighter brown inkwell. When you tilt the bill, that section will change, too. “The brown stays brown, and the bell jumps out because it turns green,” says Fortunato. If it stays one color, you have counterfeit money in your hands.

If you’re wondering about the $1 and $5 bills, they have basic security measures, but not this specific color-changing ink in the bottom right number.

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Hold the bill to the light

Every note $5 and up has other security features that aren’t visible right off the bat. Hold your bill against the light, though, and you’ll see some new developments. Real bills have a security thread that goes in a straight line from top to bottom. Plus, you should see watermarks: On a $5 bill there will be watermarks of the numeral “5,” and larger bills will have a watermark of the front portrait visible on both sides of the bill. If you don’t see these marks, you have an imposter. “In most counterfeits, those are missing altogether,” says Fortunato.

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Check the portrait quality

When the U.S. government prints money, they use a process called intaglio printing to put the pictures on the bills. The ink goes in the engraved areas, instead of on the raised areas of the plate, like an inkjet would use. That’s why fake bills look flat, while real ones have an almost 3D quality, says Fortunato. “It’s sort of like looking at a painting vs. looking at a picture,” she says. “There’s a third dimension there that allows you to get more shading and a lifelike look.”

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Hunt for weird phrases

Normally, the top right corner on the front says “The United States of America,” but at second glance, says Everett, you might notice some counterfeit money says something weird, like: “For Motion Picture Use Only.” By law, prop money made for movies needs to be either bigger or smaller than a real bill, and have only one side printed. Some sets don’t follow those rules, though, and print convincing fake bills for the screen. Once filming wraps, that fake money could end up on e-commerce sites.

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Check the border

Because the borders are so intricate, a counterfeiter’s bad print job might mess it up. “It could look dotty or not totally straight,” says Reichman. The line could also look blurry, or the color could be darker than normal.

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Pick at the fibers

Give the white space on your bill a closer look. The cotton-linen blend of U.S. currency has little blue and red threads woven randomly in each note. Sometimes the fibers will even poke out a bit. It might be hard to tell without a magnifying glass, but on a fake bill those “threads” will just be printed on the paper. “If you look closely … you could scratch through it,” says Fortunato. “On a genuine bill, you would be able to pick it up out of the paper itself.”

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Compare the serial number to other bills

If you’re suspicious of the big stack of cash you just received, double check the serial numbers. Most counterfeiters make multiple copies of the same bills. They might have three or four originals, but some will have just one, and every fake note will have the same serial number. “It might be odd if multiple bills have the exact same serial number,” says Fortunato.

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Keep your guard up

Whether you’re holding a yard sale or selling an old car, be cautious when taking cash from strangers. Sure, you’ll always want to be careful if you’re accepting hundreds or thousands of dollars in cash, but even little splurges could leave a chance you’re getting duped. “A big red flag is someone trying to purchase something of low value in high denominator bills and want change,” says Everett. Keep your eye out for the signs of counterfeit bills before you accept the money.

About the experts

  • Susan Fortunato is an assistant chief in the Counterfeit Branch of the U.S. Secret Service. She has years of experience in forensic document analysis, specializing in the authentication of ink, toner, paper and other materials using chemical and instrumental methods.
  • Trent Everett is the assistant director of the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information at the U.S. Secret Service, where he also serves as the agency’s key intelligence official. He is a career federal law enforcement professional with more than 24 years of experience in protective and investigative operations.
  • Alex Reichmann is the CEO of iTestCash, a leading e-commerce company specializing in counterfeit money detection and cash-handling equipment. He provides cutting-edge solutions to protect businesses from counterfeit currency and identity theft.

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Sources:

  • Trent Everett, assistant director of the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information, U.S. Secret Service
  • Alex Reichmann, CEO of iTestCash
  • Susan Fortunato, assistant chief in the counterfeit branch, U.S. Secret Service