US Company Develops New Technique to Detect Counterfeit Banknotes

A bank teller checks yuan banknotes. (AFP)
A bank teller checks yuan banknotes. (AFP)
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US Company Develops New Technique to Detect Counterfeit Banknotes

A bank teller checks yuan banknotes. (AFP)
A bank teller checks yuan banknotes. (AFP)

A US company has developed a new technique that allows the general public to detect counterfeit banknotes.

Studies say that during a typical cash transaction, people glance at banknotes for about a second. The US-based company Crane Currency has created a specially-designed micro-optic lens that focuses on an icon or image underneath; the technology makes an image appear in 3-D and animates it as the note is moved around.

According to the Tech Xplore website, Crane Currency has designed a number of banknotes incorporating 3-D micro-optic security features, including currency in Uzbekistan and an award-winning note in circulation on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

These have been in circulation for about a year and this study is the first to confirm the reliability of the new security feature from a user point of view, reported the German news agency (dpa).

The Tech Xplore website cited Jane Raymond, professor of Visual Cognition at the University of Birmingham, as saying: "Most people trust their banknotes, are usually in a hurry, and often handle cash in places where the lighting is bad. So, in many situations, it's not so hard to miss a fake banknote."

"Security features need to give people fast, easy-to-see signals that work under all sorts of lighting conditions," she added.



Man Posed as an Ambassador and Ran a Fake Embassy, Indian Police Say 

Luxury cars cars bearing fake diplomatic number plates are parked outside a rented residential building in which a bogus embassy was running in Ghaziabad, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Monday, July 21, 2025. (Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force via AP)
Luxury cars cars bearing fake diplomatic number plates are parked outside a rented residential building in which a bogus embassy was running in Ghaziabad, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Monday, July 21, 2025. (Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force via AP)
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Man Posed as an Ambassador and Ran a Fake Embassy, Indian Police Say 

Luxury cars cars bearing fake diplomatic number plates are parked outside a rented residential building in which a bogus embassy was running in Ghaziabad, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Monday, July 21, 2025. (Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force via AP)
Luxury cars cars bearing fake diplomatic number plates are parked outside a rented residential building in which a bogus embassy was running in Ghaziabad, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Monday, July 21, 2025. (Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force via AP)

Indian police have arrested a man accused of running a bogus embassy from a rented residential building near the capital, New Delhi, and recovered cars with fake diplomatic plates.

The suspect impersonated an ambassador and allegedly duped people for money by promising overseas employment, said senior police officer Sushil Ghule of Uttar Pradesh state’s special task force in northern India.

According to police, Harshvardhan Jain, 47, claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to entities such as “Seborga” or “Westarctica.”

Police recovered multiple doctored photographs showing Jain with world leaders, and fake seals of India’s foreign ministry and nearly three dozen countries, Ghule said.

Jain was also suspected of illegal money laundering through shell companies abroad, he said. He is also facing charges of forgery, impersonation and possessing fake documents.

Police recovered four cars bearing fake diplomatic plates and nearly 4.5 million Indian rupees ($52,095) and other foreign currencies in cash from Jain’s rented premises, which were adorned with international flags of several nations.

Jain or his lawyer couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.