How Counterfeiters Imitate Security Features

At the recent High Security Printing™ Latin America conference in Guatemala, Acir de Oliveira Junior, criminal expert from the Brazilian Federal Police, presented techniques used by organised criminal groups over the last five years to simulate banknote and ID document security features. He described how counterfeiters are becoming increasingly adept at imitating visible features that look convincing at first glance, but that are consistently easy to identify as fakes when examined more closely.

Mr Oliveira Junior's presentation was based on investigations into more than 25 counterfeit laboratories dismantled by the Brazilian Federal Police since 2019. These investigations provided valuable insights into the production methods and resources used by organised criminal groups.

Although the investigations focused primarily on banknotes, their findings carry relevance for the broader authentication industry, given that many of the overt features carried on today's banknotes are also used on tax stamps and brand protection labels.