Maybe it's a good thing the government spent all that money rolling out the new $100 bill, because New York City is apparently filled with fake tender. The counterfeit bills are allegedly so good they're fooling bankers with authentic looking watermarks, and about $97,000 of fake money was seized around JFK last week. the U.S. Secret Service, which was originally created to suppress counterfeit currency, issued some tips on how to spot a bogus bill.
The differences include the use of flat black ink rather than ink that turns green to black, and a dark shadow between the S and the T in "STATES" on the bottom of the bill. The real tender's paper, which is 70% cotton and 30% linen, is also nearly impossible to reproduce, so fakes should feel lighter than usual. Oh, and if they don't start flying around whenever some really patriotic music comes on, they're most definitely fake.
