How to Use Chemistry to Prevent Counterfeit Canadian Currency

New Canadian bills have a coat of arms by the picture that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Counterfeiters attempt to use fake bills, often homemade ones, to pay for merchandise at stores. Store owners are then stuck with the counterfeit bills and are out the money for the merchandise the counterfeiters purchased. This is a serious problem in Canada. As of 2010, new Canadian bills use identifying marks that can be seen only under ultraviolet light to try to deter counterfeiters.

Things You'll Need

• Ultraviolet scanner

Instructions

1. Purchase an ultraviolet scanner for your business. Get a scanner that uses a UV bulb with a life of at least 7,500 hours and a chrome reflector around the bulb. The lamp must be covered at the top and sides to protect the bulb from the sun and your eyes from the lamp. Securisource.com, a company that sells ultraviolet scanners, says that you should use Phillips, GE or Sylvania bulbs for best results.

2. Plug in the ultraviolet scanner. Put the Canadian bill underneath the ultraviolet light.

3. Look at the bill through the ultraviolet light. You should see four distinct marks that show up only under ultraviolet light: small green discs, red fibers, the Canadian coat of arms over the left side of the portrait and the bill's denomination written in French. Scrape the small green discs for added security. When you scrape the discs off genuine bills, you will see a blue-tinted blank space in their place.

Tips & Warnings

• Place a scanner next to every cash register so that cashiers can easily scan counterfeit bills.

• Train your employees to tilt the bills up and visually examine them before placing them in the scanner. Genuine banknotes have maple leaves that turn from green to gold when the note is tilted as well as hidden numbers that cannot be seen when the note is held flat.

• Don't rely exclusively on ultraviolet technology, as older bills without the identifying marks are still in circulation. Memorize what both old and new bills look like and teach your employees to do the same to help identify counterfeit bills.

References

• SecuriSource: Questions on Counterfeit Detection