[legion]

Back when I was a bank teller, from '94 to '97 in Naperville, we'd see a counterfeit bill at my branch maybe twice a year, and I never saw one personally. The procedure was to give it to the supervisor, I know that documentation was done, and the Secret Service was eventually called. I don't think the people who "passed" the bills were ever even aware they were counterfeit until they got interviewed. The had been a few (obvious) fakes in the area at the time that were made by some teenagers with a photocopier.

A far bigger problem we had at the time was the sealed bill packs we ordered from other banks were coming in "light".

I have toured a few Federal Reserve branches on multiple occasions and they would tape their counterfeit bills to the windows of the counting room. I recall seeing about $20 million (rough guestimation) in 20's on a table and half a dozen fakes discovered in the batch.

I wonder how the modern fakes are being made? Back a long time ago, making fakes required a printing press and a skilled engraver. Analogue photcopiers can make fakes, but tend to distort the image in ways that make it pretty obvious. All digital photocopiers are supposed to have software to detect when currency is being copied and leave traces that the bill isn't real.

There have long been rumors (going back at least 15 years) of North Korea producing nearly perfect $100 bill counterfeits, and that was supposed to be one of the drivers of the bill redesign. I never understood how that would solve the problem, as we do not ever devalue old currency.