Currency Counterfeiting Masterminds

I was bored the other day and ran across this show called "Masterminds", an absolutely brilliant show which I can't stop watching. There are a couple of episodes where they talk about these guys who both managed to create millions of dollars worth of fraudulent currency. The first guy is just a high school boy who manages to make around 16 million dollars in fake notes over several years just by using a basic printer and some art paint. It just goes to show how easily the system of fiat paper money can be compromised.

What I also find ironic is how they're saying "a high school student nearly crippled the nation's economy". They go on to say how his fake millions debase the currency and "attack the economy". Yet when the Federal Reserve literally creates TRILLIONS out of thin air it's "natural and healthy for the economy". No... no it's not. The only reason we don't see outrageous levels of inflation is because every new cent created represents debt which generates interests, but they never actually create that new interest as currency. That's why there is more debt than money in circulation at any given moment.

Money Maker

Making Millions

Keep in mind each episode has several parts. There are a lot of other good episodes too if you visit YouTube. Another good episode is called Stealing Las Vegas, it's not so much on the topic of currency counterfeiting but it's about a true genius who manages to out smart the casinos in the most amazing ways. Or the episode called Fool's Gold about this elusive mastermind who lies about a massive gold deposit and makes billions. There are also a huge number of episodes about elaborate heists and robberies, which are truly mind-blowing. I've learnt so much about breaking into banks in the last few hours.

I like Masterminds. Too many cop shows only show the idiots that get caught. Even Masterminds only seems to show smarter people getting caught. I'd like to see a show where all the criminals get away.

Besides, he's not a counterfeiter. He's an "undocumented banker."

reply to post by VictorVonDoom

Masterminds only seems to show smarter people getting caught. I'd like to see a show where all the criminals get away.

Haha. Some of them get away. A few guys in the robbery episodes get away, some of their escapes are simply ingenious.

I remember watching this show a few years or so ago, but if I remember correctly all of the episodes were older than that. I think it was a Canadian program, but I am not certain. Anyway, it was probably the best show of its genre while it was on the air, at least in my opinion. Some of those guys really were relative geniuses, while others were a bit off to say the least.

Although some of the most brilliant cons of this nature are brilliant simply because of their simplicity. Like the Brinks robbery back in the day where the mastermind actually broke into the building before the day of the robbery, took out the cylinder of the door leading to the counting room, and had a key made before breaking in again and reinserting the lock. I mean wow, lol.

I will say however that nowadays things like this are not nearly as possible as they were pre 80's or early 90's. Security systems have gotten extremely sophisticated, and there are not as many people who have the specialized knowledge who are willing to perpetrate acts like this. Back in the day there was a certain appeal to certain types of criminals, and for brilliant robberies and heists, as long as it did not involve people getting killed. But ya, it is much harder to pull off these types of things today.

As far as counterfeiting, it is virtually impossible to pull off today in mass. I mean the SS destroys tons of fake currency every year, from those printed on a home computer to those of the very sophisticated. The problem is that to make a lot of money counterfeiting notes, one has to forge the larger denominations as opposed to 1's or 5's here in the states. And those larger denominations have even more security features for this very reason.

If I am correct, there is not a counterfeit operation that has operated recently that has successfully forged all of the security features of a large denomination note. This means it is more difficult to get the money into circulation, and there are a few main ways that this is accomplished. Rarely, with larger operations, someone who owns a business will pay a certain amount on the dollar for fake cash, and these people will subsequently deposit this money into the bank...Either directly or through a couple of different operations.

The main way most small timers do it is to simply send accomplices to pay for something relatively cheap with a large bill, getting authentic money as change...This can be an effective laundering technique, but nowadays cashiers are wise and will check 100's every single time they get one. There are one of two ways most cashiers check notes, from what I have seen. They will use a money marker, or will hold the bill up to the light to look for either a watermark or one of the other security features. Defeating just one of these can be done by sophisticated operations, and sometimes even more than one, but they cannot match all the features. It's just impossible. So the point is to just do enough to pass the bills into circulation.

When I was in Manhattan a few years ago, I ate at a fast food place, and when I got my change I didn't really check it very well. When I went to the machine to get a pass for the subway I tried to put the 10 into the machine and it wouldn't take it, and when I really looked at the note I realized it was fake. The color was slightly off, but it wasn't that noticeable if not focusing on the bill. The surprising thing was that it felt real. This means that it was likely printed on actually fabric or cloth, like real US currency. The government doesn't actually release the mixture they use for notes, but apparently counterfeiters have approximated it pretty well.

Anyway, about that time one of the ladies who worked in the subway came up to see if I needed help, and she took the bill from me and went to put it into the machine, and was like, this is fake. Then she said, word for word, "you got got. This is New York. You gotta get somebody else now." And I did, lol. I hadn't spent much time in the city period, so this was new to me.

I haven't had anyone try to give me counterfeit money again, but you can bet that next time I will likely notice. To describe the bill a little more, it looked like it may have been made on a regular printer. The color was close enough but off enough to not stand to scrutiny, and they probably used a similar paper since as I said, it felt real. The guy that took it after me didn't notice it either. He was the proprietor of a magazine stand right above the entrance to the subway where I was. If that guy is here on the forums...sorry, lol. Now that I think about it, I should have just held on to that note.