Ok, now I'm paranoid

[nancylebov]

New $50 bill can't be saved, scanned, or printed.

The thing is, I believe that I usually have a pretty good idea of what's technologically possible, and I can't imagine how such a thing could be done. Has anyone actually tried scanning a $50 bill?

I can imagine ways around such a limitation (scan the bill in small sections, make a slightly blurry scan, use a scanner that wasn't made in the US....), but maybe I'm missing something.

I bet that the low-res image would be good enough to spend in a harried ill-lit environment like a bar.

Comments

[akicif.livejournal.com]

It's the Constellation of EUrion (http://www.stargeek.com/item/59592.html) that does it....

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm amazed that it's something so simple.

I almost didn't click on the link--Constellation of EUrion sounds like a UFO cult, and I thought you might be playing into the paranoia theme.

[cheshyre]

Can't be saved!?

Either that's bad phrasing by the headline writer, or it implies some *really* bad economic times ahead...

[papersky.livejournal.com]

That was my first thought -- wow, they're really going all out for psyching people into consumption!

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Sure you can scan it. Just not with the most recent software (and possibly hardware).

Of course, your suggestions would likely also work (though the sectional scan may or may not, with truly sophisticated scanning software), but that's not the point.

These limitations are NOT meant for the professional counterfeiters; they're going to make their copies no matter what. Rather, they're intended to keep 17-year-olds (or their equivalent at other ages) from scanning and printing phonies on home machines. Again, not that it'll work -- but if the government makes announcements like this, at least it appears that they're doing something positive.

I bet that the low-res image would be good enough to spend in a harried ill-lit environment like a bar.

For many, yes. But I've begun seeing more and more register-based counterfeit detectors appearing at supermarkets (that is, the cashier places the bill on the detector, which is part of the register, and it verifies it), and I wouldn't be surprised to see them being used at bars, too. (I don't get out to bars, so wouldn't know, beyond a reasonable guess. Would be interesting to know, though.)

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine having a fifty buck bill!

I quoted this in my LiveJournal yesterday

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

From http://www.bna.com:
U.S. OFFERS INTERNET DOWNLOADS OF NEW $50 BILL
The U.S. government will offer over the Internet low-quality images of its new $50 bill for artists, students and others who discover that their computers, scanners or printers will not allow them to view or copy pictures of the new currency. Making these digital copies is getting harder, thanks to secretive anti-counterfeiting technology built into some popular consumer hardware and software products at the request of government regulators and international bankers.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/9809934.htm

[darius.livejournal.com]

Last I heard, none of the open-source image programs have the currency checks, but there was a proposal in Europe to make those checks legally required, making general-purpose computers and the internet illegal, as usual with this sort of thing: http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000497.html