Exclusive: Bank of Canada found only one poor-quality counterfeit new polymer $100 note, analyzed by RCMP

In a followup interview with Nish Vairavanathan, a Bank of Canada currency analyst, this reporter has confirmed that (as far as Vairavanathan was aware) there is only one known case of counterfeit new polymer $100 banknote. (Note: The new polymer $100 was launched a few months ago in November 2011.) As reported yesterday (also mirrored in an article here), the counterfeit new polymer $100 bill was of very poor quality. For example, the counterfeit new polymer $100 bill did not have the transparent window in the middle of the banknote, one of the most obvious and easily verifiable security feature.

Readers of this article should not be alarmed by the existence of this one known case of counterfeit new polymer $100 banknote, what you can do is arm yourself with the knowledge of the new polymer banknote’s security features. You can start by watching a video of me handling and inspecting a new $100 banknote for its security features up close. Also watch this informative PSA video from Bank of Canada: The New $100 Note. I’ve been informed the single counterfeit new polymer $100 banknote is with the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeit Bureau being analyzed. I asked if a picture of it is available to the media but was told that information like how it looks, where it was found, etc are not being shared (I presume for security or police investigation reasons).

What should Canadians do when we come across suspected counterfeit banknotes?

Any Canadians handling cash, especially those in the front line handling cash as a cashier or merchant, etc, should familiarize ourselves with the new polymer banknotes’ security features. When we see any cash that doesn’t look real, then we can and should refuse it and simply politely ask for another form of payment.

For our safety, don’t confront the payer as it may put ourselves in danger, contact local police instead. Plus the person with the “counterfeit-looking” banknote may be truly innocent and not aware the banknote is potentially a counterfeit. You may be interested to know, Bank of Canada discovered $2.6 million dollars worth of Canadian Journey series counterfeit banknotes last year, 48% are $20 bills and 37% are $100 bills.

Curious readers may be interested to know, the old Canadian Journey series banknote costs 10 cents each to print compare to the new polymer banknote costing 19 cents each to print but will last 2.5 times longer make the polymer banknotes more cost effective in the long term according to Bank of Canada.

Note: This news is marked “Exclusive” because at press time, as far as I can find or search, no news media has reported or picked on the existence of the one poor-quality counterfeit new polymer $100 note and the fact that the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeit Bureau has it under analysis.

(Article is cross-posted to Examiner.com)

Bank of Canada confirms poor-quality counterfeit polymer $100 notes as it launches 4 new PSAs to help educate public to prevent financial crimes

Yesterday, Bank of Canada unveiled four public service announcements (PSAs) at Toronto Police Service headquarters.

“The Bank of Canada takes counterfeiting very seriously and responds by researching and developing new notes with innovative security features that are both easy to check and hard to counterfeit. The Bank of Canada will be unveiling four new public service announcements to help educate the public and assist in the prevention of Financial Crimes.“

During the post-press conference Q&A, Bank of Canada representative confirmed with this reporter that since the launch of the new polymer $100 notes in November 2011, there have been attempts to counterfeit the polymer $100 notes and the counterfeit $100s were in circulation. Fortunately, according to the Bank representative, the quality of these counterfeit C$100 notes were of very poor quality, for example, these counterfeit notes didn’t even have the transparent windows, one of the most obvious and easily verifiable security features. Which is why the Bank is emphasizing the importance of educating the public to detect counterfeit polymer notes. You can watch my questions and the Bank representative’s answers at the 20:00 mark of this YouTube video.

Full press conference video: Fighting Fraud On The Front Lines ~ Bank of Canada & Toronto Police Financial Crimes Unit

Bank Note Counterfeiting – from Bank of Canada

A good way to check bank notes is FLP (Feel, Look, and Flip) as explained here at the 3:20 mark.

Some readers may remember I’ve previously written about polymer banknotes since Bank of Canada first announced (in March 2011) that it would launch polymer notes in Canada. The following are my in-depth research articles based on information known or found at the time.

March 2011, “Secrets of Bank of Canada’s new plastic money: An advance look of 12 possible security features“

March 2011, “Bank of Canada’s new polymer banknote – Patents & technologies by Securency International“

June, 2011, “Canada New Polymer $100 Notes in Nov 2011 – Now your money is smooth & will bounce!“

November, 2011, “Canada polymer $100 banknote hands-on look finally! (with video)“

Note: See also this 660 News article reporting about the BoC press conference, “Bank of Canada launches fraud prevention campaign“.

Note: article is cross-posted to examiner.com

The new $20 and new (Nov 2011) $100 polymer bank note

From Bank of Canada “The new $20 polymer bank note“

My hands on look of the new (Nov 2011) $100 polymer bank note and money laundering experiment.

And a full b-roll commentary of the $100 bank notes.

canada polymer $100 – money “laundering” test – wash and dry

After a detail (with video) and more serious look at the new Canada polymer $100 banknote, I decided to have some fun and put the brand new $100 to a money “laundering” test. I washed & dried it in a dryer to see what happen.

Non-scientific test results:

* The fold marks are not much worst than regular use.

* The polymer $100 feels noticeably softer after heated up in drier but it feels ok and strong.

* The metallic strip and the holograms are still working great.

Conclusion:

* If you accidentally leave your $100 bills in your jeans pocket, they will survive a wash and dry cycle easily!

Canada polymer $100 banknote hands-on look finally! (with video)

I’ve written and speculated extensively about the new Canadian polymer notes. Finally, I am excited to say I’ve got one in my hand now. Have a watch of this slideshow of the new polymer C$100. In comparison, watch this slideshow of the HK$10 (which is less than US/C $2).

Here is a video of me checking out the new polymer $100, I slowed down the video at various place so you can have a closer look at some features.

Comments:

1) Raised ink: I definitely feel the raised ink on the large “100″ and the shoulders and different parts of the bill.

2) What hidden 100? I have given up trying to find the hidden numbers (using a single light source) in the maple leaf! Some people can see it, not me. So if this security feature is hard to use, or only some people (or small percent of people) can use it, I am questioning if this is a good security feature at all!

Note: I wonder if this feature is the WinDOE® (Diffractive Optical Element) as I wrote in “12 possible security features” in March?

3) Polymer but not cheap plastic feel: I actually quite like the feel and don’t feel it is “cheap” or anything thing. It feel like it is good quality. But only time and actually use will tell.

4) Large transparent window and metallic strip: I LOVE them! To me, they are the best part of the bill. They are extremely easy to inspect and tell if it is a real $100 with minimum training! They are hard to fake thanks to Securency International’s security features and patented technologies.

Further info: In March, I wrote a speculative technology piece with extensive links to patents by Securency International, “Bank of Canada’s new polymer banknote – Patents & technologies by Securency International“ After the new $100 was announced in June, I wrote “Canada New Polymer $100 Notes in Nov 2011 – Now your money is smooth & will bounce!“

The HK$10 (less than US/C$ 2)

Here are some design info about the polymer $100 from Bank of Canada:

“$100 Note – Design Features
Portrait: Sir Robert L. Borden, Prime Minister, 1911–20
Signatures: Left – T. Macklem, Right – M.J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm (6.0 x 2.75 inches)
Issue Date: November 2011
Theme: Medical Innovation

New polymer Canada $100 notes coming today (Nov 14th)

Nov 17th update:  Happy to say I finally got a chance to play with my new Canada polymer C$100 bill (with video).
***
Update Nov 16th: Just checked with Bank of Canada and got some clarifications. It will take BoC a few weeks to get the polymer $100 notes to different cities and local bank branches. And once the banks have the new $100, they will start removing the old $100 notes from circulation. Meaning if you deposit an old $100, it will be shipped back to Bank of Canada to be destroyed.

***

Update: CTV News, “Polymer $100 bill now in circulation” (with video)

CBC News: “New polymer $100 bill goes into circulation – First in series of new bills, the $100s have enhanced security features to thwart counterfeiters” (with video)

“Do Canada’s new bank notes fit the bill?”

***

The new polymer Canada  $100 notes are finally here today (Nov 14, 2011)! Here is a press release from Bank of Canada with a link to their live webcast,

“WEBCASTS – 14 NOVEMBER 2011:

Audio and video Webcasts of the official ceremony to issue the new $100 polymer bank note will be available at 13:00 (Eastern Time).

The Webcasts will be accessible from this location: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/media-room/webcasts/

Note: We recommend that you access Webcasts five minutes before their scheduled start time.”

Have a read of my previous articles here and here.

My commentaries of the new polymer Canada  $100 notes

Bank of Canada’s new polymer banknote – Patents & technologies by Securency International

Nov 17th update:  Happy to say I finally got a chance to play with my new Canada polymer C$100 bill (with video).
***
June 20, 2011 Update: Today (June 20th), the Bank of Canada actually shows us the new polymer $100 notes. I’ve more coverage and technical analysis (with video) here in “Canada New Polymer $100 Notes in Nov 2011 – Now your money is smooth & will bounce!“

***

March 13, 2011 Update: I’ve got confirmation from BoC on Friday afternoon the Guardian® (supplied by Securency International) is indeed the polymer substrate to be used in the new plastic banknotes. By the way, for some reason Securency International‘s website seems to be down for the last few days.

***

It was nice to have an informative phone interview with a Bank of Canada representative this morning about the newly announced plastic banknote (see my lengthy post here). As expected, I was unable to get an official confirmation of whether the Guardian® polymer substrate (supplied by Securency International) will be used. At the same time, I’ve now gathered enough evidences to convince myself that the Guardian® substrate or an enhanced version of it will be used in Canada. After all, the Bank confirmed that they are using “industry proven technology” (the keyword here is “proven”) and stated in its public release,

“As part of its ongoing technology research program with its partners, the Bank has developed some new security features and adapted other existing features for the Canadian context.” [K: so it can be an "enhanced" version if Securency want to do some more testing on the "improvements" first?]

It should be noted that I know banks don’t usually like to talk about their security systems in detail. Many banks still believe (falsely) that the less we know, the more secure their systems are. Not true! I believe that good security has to be based on solid science and careful implementations. And “security by obscurity” is never enough nor secure.

Enough from me, if you are technical and want to learn more, I’ve found some Securency patents for you to study and learn from. As I wrote in a 2006 article as a side comment,

“For the patent geek out there, [...] thanks to “2165 The Best Mode Requirement” of the MPEP, patent is required to disclose the “best mode” to make this device thus making the patent an interesting read.“

Some US patents by Securency:

* 7,871,741 ,  Method of producing diffractive structures in security documents

* 7,790,361 , Methods of producing diffractive structures in security documents

* 7,652,757 , Method and apparatus for inspection of security articles incorporating a diffractive optical projection element

* 7,488,002 , Security and/or value document

* 7,040,664 , Self-verifying security documents

* 7,029,733 , Printed matter producing reflective intaglio effect

* 6,995,383 , Method of verifying the authenticity of a security document and document for use in such a method

Some US Patents by others that contain the keyword “Securency”:

* 7,820,282 (3M), Foam security substrate

* 7,655,296 (3M), Ink-receptive foam article

Patent searches

You can do the USPTO Patent search yourself for Securency to read more. Or you can use the Google patents search for Securency where you can download patents and patent applications with text and diagrams in PDF files (pretty handy).

Secrets of Bank of Canada’s new plastic money: An advance look of 12 possible security features

Nov 17th update:  Happy to say I finally got a chance to play with my new Canada polymer C$100 bill (with video).
***
June 20, 2011 Update: Today (June 20th), the Bank of Canada actually shows us the new polymer $100 notes. I’ve more coverage and technical analysis (with video) here in “Canada New Polymer $100 Notes in Nov 2011 – Now your money is smooth & will bounce!“

***

The Bank of Canada today (March 11, 2011) announced that it will begin circulating new polymer (plastic) banknotes starting with $100 in Nov 2011 ($50 in Mar 2012, $20, $10, and $5 notes to be issued by end of 2013). Publicly, BoC has NOT disclosed what security features will be deployed in these polymer banknotes. But basing on research using publicly available information, I will try to give you an advance look of 12 **possible** security features in the new Canadian polymer money.

Clues that lead to the “secret”/unannounced 12 possible security features

I know Hong Kong has issued polymer $10 note (in fact I have one in my hand) and some googling lead me to the interesting HKU technical note “Ten-dollar polymer note: Polymer currency technology” (pdf) and the HK government info about the $10 note (pdf). Here is an excerpt from the tech note,

“Different polymer substrates are available for manufacturing purposes, but the one used in printing banknotes is unique and is not commercially available. Hong Kong is using the polymer type called Guardian®, and they are made from polymer biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP).”

From Guardian®, I then found that it is made by Securency International. And if I had known what to look, I would have found BoC actually stated this in its backgrounder: the polymer substrate will be supplied by Securency International.

An advance look

I want to be clear that the following are 12 security features of Securency International‘s Guardian substrate. Since I don’t think Securency make any other polymer substrate, therefore logically BoC must be using Guardian so these 12 security features are all possible/available to BoC.

Here are the 12 possible security features with emphasis added. Since I don’t have the costs associated with these features and I don’t have any inside knowledge whatsoever, I am only taking some wild guesses and base my comments on what I see in the HK$10 note (about less than C$2).

[March 11th, 2011 Update: I did some more research and added this article, "Bank of Canada’s new polymer banknote – Patents & technologies by Securency International".]

12 **possible** security features of Canada’s new polymer money

1. LATITUDE™ (link to pix) [Kempton: likely, especially on higher value banknote like $100]

“LATITUDE™ is an optically variable device (OVD) that is integrated into the transparent window area of the substrate and allows for design freedom, which enhances the security of the banknote. Through tilting the banknote, multiple images and optical effects are observed. “

2. WinTHRU® (Complex Window) (link to pix) [K: very likely, it is very easy for users to identify a fake]

“The ability to create transparent areas (or clear and complete windows) is a prime security feature within Guardian® substrate. Including a clear area in a banknote has proven to virtually eliminate the problem of the ‘casual counterfeiter’, who tries to copy or scan banknotes on readily available reprographic equipment (like colour copiers and scanners) [... more ...]“

3. WinDOE® (Diffractive Optical Element) (link to pix) [K: don't see why not?]

“The WinDOE® (Diffractive Optical Element) is a holographic structure applied to the surface of the clear window. When collimated light such as a distant point light source passes through the WinDOE®, it is transformed by the WinDOE® structure into a recognisable pattern (image) by the process of diffraction. The user can view the image in two ways. By holding the WinDOE® up to the eye and looking directly at a distant point source the user will see the image appear in space between the note and the light source. The appearance of the image will depend on the light source used. [... more ...]“

4. G-switch® (Dynamic optical colour shift) [K: Hmmm, why not?]

“G-switch® is a dynamic optical feature that changes colour when tilted under a light source.

Kryptonite bone glue helps open-heart surgery patients

I am happy to hear co-principal investigators Calgary cardiac surgeon Dr. Paul Fedak, MD PhD FRCSC and nurse researcher Dr. Kathryn King, RN PhD have found a way to help open heart surgery patients to recover better and faster using Kryptonite^TM adhesive, a biocompatible polymer manufactured by the Connecticut-based Doctors Research Group (US website) (PDF info).

Here is an excerpt from the official news release (PDF) (emphasis added),

““We can now heal the breastbone in hours instead of weeks after open-heart surgery. Patients can make a full recovery after surgery and get back to full physical activities in days instead of months,” reports Dr. Paul W.M. Fedak, MD PhD FRCSC, a cardiac surgeon at Foothills Medical Centre and scientist at the Faculty of Medicine who pioneered the new procedure.

Over 20 patients have received the new technique in Calgary as part of a pilot study. Fedak and Kathryn King, RN PhD are the co-principal investigators on the study. King, a cardiovascular nurse scientist, is an expert in post-operative recovery after open-heart surgery. “We know that recovery from sternotomy is a multi-faceted process that includes not only healing of the breastbone but the ability to return to normal activities,” she says. “Being able to resume normal activities is a hallmark of a good recovery; this surgical innovation should enable that.”

[...] The encouraging results of this pilot study have prompted the Calgary researchers to establish a worldwide study to further investigate its benefits. The STICK Trial (STernal Innovative Closure with KryptoniteTM) aims to apply the technique in over 500 patients across the globe over the next 12 – 24 months.

[...] KryptoniteTM is approved for use in Canada (Health Canada), USA (FDA), and Europe (CE Mark). This pilot study has been supported in part by Doctor’s Research Group Inc.”

I like to thank Dr. Fedak for sending along the product monograph and his Oct 29, 2009 presentation about Kryptonite (TM). After watching the 30 minutes presentation including Dr. Fedak’s research findings, I now have a deeper understanding of the benefits of Kryptonite to open-heart surgery patients in their healing process. I’ve posted some selected screen captures from the presentation here, here, and here.

The following are some related news plus a link to the patent application of the adhesive.

• Kryptonite revolutionizes heart surgery recovery (CTV news with video)
• Kryptonite glue helps breastbone heal after surgery (CBC news with audio)
• Super glue tested on Calgary heart surgery patients (Calgary Herald)
• Health FYI (Global News video clip)
• Pilot study goes worldwide (University of Calgary information)
• Surgeon ‘Gluing’ The Breastbone Together After Open-heart Surgery (Science Daily)
• Using glue to mend breastbone after open-heart surgery means quicker healing (Canadian Press)
• 醫學新知/強力膠粘合傷口　開心手術病人復原快疼痛少 (Taiwan Chinese newspaper website)

Note: Here is a link to the patent application “Methods of performing medical procedures which promote bone growth“ by Dr. Richard Deslauriers, CEO of Doctors Research Group Inc., and other co-inventors.

P.S. As a Calgarian and U of C alum (Haskayne MBA), I am exceedingly proud and excited of Dr. Fedak and Dr. King’s achievements.

[Thanks to this Libin Institute's blog entry for the links of the official press release and Global TV news clip.]