Counterfeiter Albert Talton Prints $7 Million In Fake Money Using Inkjet

Details:

Behind an anonymous-looking door on the fifth floor of the United States Secret Service headquarters, on H Street in Washington, D.C., is a small, windowless room known by the agents who work there as the Specimen Vault. Lining the walls are dozens of filing cabinets filled with narrow steel drawers containing scores of transparent plastic sleeves. In each sleeve is an individual note of U.S. currency--a single, five, ten, twenty, fifty, or hundred.

Read the whole story: Details

Comments

[LeeCalif]

Thanks for the tip.

[Name Not In Use]

And to think that he could have printed a couple hundred million in worthless credit default swaps and the Treasury would be glad to buy them at face value. No crime committed there.

[Gover]

I read this article in like Rolling Stone maybe a bunch of years back about this kid who was counterfeiting crazy amounts of money out of a dorm room.

He had two really good ideas:

1) Bleach $1 bills and print the fakes on them so the paper is exactly the same.

2) Don't pass the bills, get some connections with drug dealers, tell them it's counterfeit money, and sell them $100,000 fake bucks for $30,000 real ones. What are they going to turn you in? No.

He actually didn't get caught he turned himself in because it was just getting out of control but still for a "copier" counterfeiter this guy was the best I'd heard of.

[armadillious2002]

Heard of a guy who went to prison one time. He bleached 5 dollar bills and did the same. He also never got caught passing the bills and eventually was busted for drugs at which time he had over 400,000 in counterfeit money in his car.

[Sundialsvc4]

It would behoove "those who follow" to remember that the printouts made by a modern ink-jet printer contain slight variations that can be traced to the printer's serial number, and thus to its place and time of purchase. While it probably wouldn't allow a fake bill to be traced directly back to its source, you never know ... you might be one of the unlucky ones.

[KarateKid]

I was once in the South Pacific island of Truk, and got a fake $100 passed to me. It had a corner torn off and I was concerned, so I went to a bank in Guam and asked if the bill was good with the corner torn off. The teller took it to the back room, and came out with the manager and told me it was a fake bill. I was distressed to lose it and told them where I had gotten it.

I went back to Hawaii where I lived at the time, and six to eight weeks later, I got a call from the Secret Service agent and was asked to repeat my story to him, so I did. He then told me if I passed another fake bill, they would come after me. This was before the age of computers, and I've never forgotten it. It shook me up to say the least. I told him that if I were going to counterfeit any bills, why would I take it to a bank to see if it was any good with the corner torn off? He didn't even want to hear that.

These folks are serious. I walked on eggs for years after, not wanting to have anything to do with $100 bills.

[EvilCartman]

The government prints a fiat currency backed by nothing, worthless paper. All money is counterfeit by nature.

[loki]

I remember many decades ago when I was just in high school they had change machines at the laundry mat. Kids would sneak into the office at school and make a xerox copy of a dollar. Then go to the laundry mat and get 4 quarters. A couple actually emptied the machine out before getting caught one day.

[chandu11]

I once tried to pay with a $2 bill at a fast food place.
The manager called the police telling them that I was trying to pass a fake bill.
The police arrived, looked at the bill and told the manager it was good.
The manager then reluctantly accepted the bill.
Question: Should the manager have accepted the bill?

[studmoose]

Before any of you brainchilds decide on doing this, remember the following.­..

Every color printer, inkjet and laser, that is less than 10 years old prints scattered microdots on their output. This is used so that the owner can be traced in the event of counterfitting or threatening letters.

The EFF lists many of the older ones that were made before this became a standard feature.

Check out the EFF's site and while you are at it, print out a colored sheet of paper and review it under a 40X microscope. You should see faint yellow dots scattered on the paper. This identifies the manufacturer and the serial number of the printer.

Even it you pay cash, when you install your printer software, it phone's home with your serial number and IP address. This is NOT Big Brother spying on you, though this process was passed under Republican leadership, it's primarily for counterfitting, Blackmail, and threatening letters.

You better think twice before you send those anonymous "I Want My Country Back" letters to the government - they can find you if they want to.

[moutonnoir]

The first time I heard of this idea was almost 15 years ago, when I went to 'rave parties' every weekend.. There is no person easier to pass fake $ to than a drug dealer in a dark room with flashing lights and pounding music... The dealers quickly started carrying the detection pens... Interesting times..

[zippo007]

It always mind blowing, the mastermind always gets caught because of a twit within his crime circle. Like the drug lords tell their pushers, "Never, ever use the product." Here the mastermind's little helper was repeatedly told not to use the counterfeit bills, guess what, he used them and its trial lead to mastermind's home. "You been served." A good thing criminals have a flaw in them, greed.


They should make a movie, but the senario has been seen so much, like movies Good Fellas, Snow, etc.

[quiviran]

Hard to find good help. What I want to know is how an ex-con got a job as a loan broker. I know a lot of them are future ex-cons, but an actual one?

[totaldisbelief]

a movie on this scam is a "slam dunk"

[totaldisbelief]

They should have hired this guy to balance the budget.

[totaldisbelief]

!!!! is it on YouTube???? Can I buy his book???? Where's his website???? Is there a DVD on it????

[studmoose]

Today's Boing Boing has a link to a good article on it.

[Tyler-Durden]

good story. i bet there will be a movie soon.

ok let's all get some ink jet printers, all we have to do is make ONE million dollar bill each, and we'll all be set!

[totaldisbelief]

pssst...du­de...er..d­ontcha think a Million Dollar bill will bring some heat?
I do mine in 20's 50's and 100's.

[UncleJimbo]

The Agents cars are pulling up to your home as I type this! See Ya! Wouldn't wanna be Ya!

[Tyler-Durden]

naw, man. we'll make million dollar bills and we'll put Reagan's face on it. ANY republican will fall for it. they believe anything.

[eden4barack08]

Wow, that was an intriguing story to read.

[Rocket80]

So when an individual does it, this is criminal behavior. When the Fed does it, it helps the economy? I'm confused.

[iLoveOldNY]

LOL Right on

[totaldisbelief]

whatever happened to "free enterprise" ?

[RTIII]

It costs money now.
.

[paulbikes]

nice.