# How do copiers recognize cash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-copiers-recognize-cash/715985 "2015-03-25T22:17:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-copiers-recognize-cash/715985/21 "2015-03-28T02:39:58Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > True, but copying currency and actually using said copies with intent to defraud are two separate things, as different as carrying a gun (which is often legal) versus shooting your mother in law in cold blood (which isn’t legal). > > Related question: Assuming that you did not intend to defraud anyone thereby, would it be legal to modify a scanner, printer, or copier to not detect currency? Maybe I’m an amateur gentleman inventor and would like to print off some “money” in order to test the new counterfeit detection device that I’ve been working on in my basement, or perhaps I want to print off a few novelty “fivers” for my child’s fifth birthday party. Neither of those circumstances involves people getting defrauded by being tricked into accepting counterfeit currency. Could I do this, or would I have committed an offense by disabling the anti-counterfeiting tech? > > Yes, I know that the answer could depend on jurisdiction. So the jurisdiction here is “any jurisdiction, whatsoever, where the law on this is at least somewhat clear”. Unless they’ve changed them, the laws regarding photographing/electronic duplicating of US currency are pretty clear. Intent does not matter, it is illegal (I believe unless you magnify the image at least 150%). Intentionally trying \*to pass \*a fake bill is a worse crime, but if you’ve ever photocopied and/or printed a 1:1 image of US currency then you’ve broken the law. The few times I’ve done it for a goof I always make sure to shred it soon after. I would most definitely **NOT** do it for a kid’s birthday party!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-copiers-recognize-cash/715985/22 "2015-03-28T02:59:50Z")
Once I couldn’t even print an article that had a stock picture of some 20 euro notes in it. The printer got to the image, canceled the entire job, and printed out a URL I could visit to learn what an awful person I am. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-copiers-recognize-cash/715985/23 "2015-03-29T01:13:49Z")
In about 2002, I had a student who worked at an office supply store. Great kid, was about to graduate, had a generous scholarship lined up. Had just turned 18, which became relevant. Anyway, he copied some 20s that he then passed in the lunch line. Apparently, he thought it was a “prank”, not a crime, if he only used them at school. He was arrested, at school, charged with counterfeiting, and maybe passing known forgeries?, lost his scholarship, thousands in fines, a huge mess. All over $40 or $60 in fake 20s that he passed in the lunch line. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-copiers-recognize-cash/715985/24 "2015-03-29T03:01:36Z")
I don’t have a link but I remember reading about a college kid (this has to be like 30 years ago) who merely Xeroxed one dollar bills after finding that a college campus bill-reader vending machine would accept them. Of course the vending company reported it and he was caught. As I remember he was convicted of counterfeiting, but got a reduced sentence (just probation I think) because: [ol] [li]He only copied one dollar bills.[/li][li]Since they were B&W and blank on one side they would not have fooled a real person, just a machine.[/li][/ol] But he was still convicted of counterfeiting and passing them, which he essentially did do. I think the story was deliberately down-played to give the electronic bill-reader makers time to update their hardware… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-copiers-recognize-cash/715985.md?page=1)