Counterfeit Pens and Counterfeit Detectors: What Each Actually Checks

A counterfeit pen tests the paper. An automatic detector tests the security features built into genuine currency. Ahead of the holiday rush, the difference matters.

Miami, Florida, United States, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The holiday season brings the year's heaviest cash volume, and with it more opportunities for counterfeit notes to slip into the drawer. Many businesses rely on a counterfeit pen as their first line of defense. According to AccuBANKER, a provider of commercial cash-handling solutions with more than 45 years of industry experience, a pen can be a useful quick check, but it tests only one property of a note, and the counterfeits most likely to cause losses are designed to pass it. Automatic counterfeit detectors test the security features that genuine currency is built around, which is why they are the stronger choice for verification.

Understanding what each tool actually checks helps a business decide how to verify notes, especially during the busy weeks when staff have the least time to look closely.

Key Facts A counterfeit pen reacts to starch in ordinary paper; it does not check any security feature of the note. Counterfeits printed on bleached genuine currency paper can pass a pen test. Automatic detectors test multiple security features, such as ultraviolet, magnetic, and infrared characteristics. The U.S. Secret Service has run counterfeit-awareness campaigns timed to the holiday shopping season since launching Operation Quick Glance in 2019. Holiday sales volume and seasonal staffing both raise counterfeit exposure at the register. A pen can serve as a quick first look; a detector provides verification.

Industry Context: Why the Holidays Raise the Stakes

The National Retail Federation forecast that 2026 holiday sales, from November 1 through December 31, would grow 4.2 percent to $1.013 trillion. More transactions mean more cash changing hands, and the season also brings seasonal workers who may have little experience checking notes. Counterfeiters know this.

The U.S. Secret Service has responded with public awareness efforts timed to the season, including its Operation Quick Glance campaign, originally launched in 2019 ahead of the holiday shopping season. That campaign urged retailers to give every note a brief inspection and highlighted easy-to-spot fakes such as motion picture notes, notes with foreign writing, and notes marked as replicas. More sophisticated counterfeits require more than a glance.

Operational Insight

A pen asks whether the paper looks like ordinary paper. A detector asks whether the note looks like money.

How a Counterfeit Pen Works

Most counterfeit pens contain an iodine-based ink that reacts with starch. Ordinary paper usually contains starch, so the mark turns dark. Genuine U.S. currency is printed on a cotton and linen blend without starch, so the mark stays light. The test is quick, inexpensive, and easy to teach, which is why pens are so common at registers.

What a pen can tell you

A pen can catch a crude counterfeit printed on ordinary office or copy paper. In that narrow case, it gives a fast answer.

What a pen cannot tell you

A pen tests only the paper. It does not check the watermark, the security thread, the color-shifting ink, the 3-D Security Ribbon on the $100 note, or any of the other features built into genuine currency. Counterfeiters who bleach genuine low-denomination notes and reprint them as higher denominations are printing on real currency paper, which passes the pen test. AccuBANKER explains these limits in detail in its article on why counterfeit pens are not reliable.

What an Automatic Detector Checks

An automatic counterfeit detector tests the note itself rather than the paper alone. It reads several independent security features and gives a clear pass or fail.

• Ultraviolet: genuine paper does not glow under UV, while each denomination's security thread glows its own color.
• Magnetic ink: genuine notes carry magnetic ink in specific areas.
• Infrared: some features of genuine currency appear only in infrared light.
• Watermark and thread: embedded features that are difficult to reproduce.
• Size and image: physical dimensions and printed characteristics compared with genuine notes.

Because a counterfeit must pass every check at once, combining several tests makes a detector far harder to fool than a single paper test.

Using Both at the Register

For businesses that already use pens, the practical step is to treat the pen as a quick first look, not as verification. Large notes, and any note that feels or looks wrong, should go through an automatic detector. Portable, battery-capable detectors make that easy to do at the register itself, so verification happens before the customer leaves rather than after the deposit is returned.

Holiday-Season Precautions

• Brief every seasonal hire on how to feel, tilt, and check a note.
• Make clear that verifying large notes is routine, not an accusation.
• Place a detector where large notes are most often accepted.
• Check notes for foreign writing or words such as replica or motion picture use.
• Know the procedure for a suspect note: do not return it, and contact local police or the Secret Service.
• Review counterfeit incidents weekly through the season.

Why Bleached Notes Defeat the Pen

One of the most common counterfeiting techniques shows exactly where the pen falls short. A counterfeiter takes a genuine low-denomination note, often a five, removes the ink, and prints a higher denomination, often a hundred, on the blank paper. The result is printed on real currency paper. A pen sees genuine paper and leaves a light mark.

The note gives itself away in other ways. Its watermark and security thread still belong to the original denomination, and its printed features do not match those of a genuine hundred. These are exactly the features an automatic detector checks. A trained eye can sometimes spot the mismatch as well, by confirming that the watermark and thread match the face value, but that takes time and attention that a busy register rarely has.

Training Seasonal Staff in Five Minutes

Seasonal hires often start just as volume peaks, with little time for training. A five-minute briefing covers the essentials: feel the paper for raised printing, tilt the note to see color-shifting ink, hold it to the light to check that the watermark and thread match the denomination, and run large notes through the detector. Staff should also know that checking a note is routine and expected, and exactly what to do, and what not to do, if a note fails.

Keeping the routine identical across every register and every location makes it easier to teach and easier to follow, and it means customers see the same consistent checks wherever they shop.

Detection in the Back Office, Too

Verification at the register is the first layer. The second is the back-office count. Counters with built-in counterfeit detection check every note as the drawer is counted at closing, catching anything that slipped through during a busy shift before it reaches the bank. A counterfeit caught at the counter can be refused. One caught in the back office can still be documented, reported, and kept out of the deposit, which avoids a returned deposit and a harder investigation later.

Together, a detector at the point of acceptance and detection in the count give a business two independent chances to stop a fake, which is especially valuable when volume and staffing are stretched.

Where Product Examples Fit

AccuBANKER's automatic counterfeit detectors are designed for verification where notes are accepted. The D470 is available with a battery pack, so it can move between registers. The D585 uses seven detection methods, checks a note in under a second, and runs on a rechargeable battery. The D700 combines up to eight detection methods, processes about 250 bills per minute, and totals the value of the notes it checks. The right choice depends on how many notes need checking and where.

Executive Commentary

“A pen is fine as a first glance, but it was never designed to verify currency,” said Matthew Peon, CEO of AccuBANKER. “It tells you about the paper. A detector tells you about the money.”

“The holidays are when businesses are busiest and counterfeiters are most active,” Peon added. “Putting a detector where the large notes come in is the simplest way to protect the season’s takings.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Do counterfeit pens work?
Only partly. A pen reacts to starch in ordinary paper and does not check any security feature, so counterfeits printed on bleached genuine currency paper can pass.

What is the difference between a counterfeit pen and a counterfeit detector?
A pen tests the paper. An automatic detector tests several security features of the note, such as ultraviolet, magnetic, and infrared characteristics, and gives a clear pass or fail.

Why is counterfeit risk higher during the holidays?
Holiday sales bring the year's heaviest cash volume, busy registers, and seasonal staff, conditions counterfeiters seek out. The U.S. Secret Service has run awareness campaigns timed to the season.

What should a business do with a suspected counterfeit?
Do not return it to the person who passed it. Note their description if it is safe to do so, contact local police or the Secret Service, and surrender the note only to law enforcement.

What Businesses Should Review Before the Season

• Whether pens are being treated as verification rather than a first look.
• Where large notes are accepted, and whether a detector is there.
• Whether seasonal staff are briefed on checking notes.
• How suspect notes are handled and reported.
• Whether back-office counters also verify every note.
• How counterfeit incidents are tracked through the season.

Looking Ahead

Counterfeit notes will keep getting more convincing, and the holiday season will keep giving them cover. Businesses that move from pen checks to automatic detection, at least for large notes, close the gap counterfeiters rely on, and enter the busiest weeks of the year with verification they can trust.

Related Resources

Automatic counterfeit detectors

D470 portable counterfeit detector

D585 multi-currency counterfeit detector

D700 counterfeit detector and value counter

Why counterfeit pens are not reliable

U.S. Currency Education Program: Secret Service holiday counterfeit campaign

Sources

• National Retail Federation: NRF Forecasts 2026 Holiday Sales Growth as Consumers Remain Resilient (October 15, 2026).
• U.S. Currency Education Program: U.S. Secret Service launches counterfeit prevention campaign ahead of holiday shopping season.
• U.S. Currency Education Program (Federal Reserve): banknote security features.
• AccuBANKER: Why Counterfeit Pens Are Not Reliable.
• AccuBANKER product information (D470, D585, D700).

About AccuBANKER

AccuBANKER is a provider of commercial cash-handling solutions specializing in money counters, counterfeit detectors, coin counters, and related cash-management technologies. For more than 45 years, the company has helped organizations improve operational efficiency, reconciliation accuracy, and cash accountability through commercial-grade cash-handling infrastructure. AccuBANKER serves banks, retailers, restaurants, hospitality operators, casinos, cannabis dispensaries, and other cash-intensive businesses throughout North America.

For more information please visit: www.AccuBANKER.com

# # #

Attachment

• Counterfeit pens and counterfeit detectors: what each actually checks

NEWMEDIA.COM
One World Trade Center
285 Fulton Street, Suite 8500, New York, NY 10007
212-220-6200
hello@newmedia.com