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Boy George Replaces Queen on Fake Bills

British shop workers fooled by his-head-for-hers forgery

(Newser) - Boy George made a convincing stand-in for the Queen on a counterfeit note found in Britain this week, the Daily Telegraph reports. The £20 note was passed at a stationary shop and the staff didn't realize it was a fake until a bank worker checked the anti-forgery watermark and...

New $5 Bill Debuts Today
 New $5 Bill Debuts Today 

New $5 Bill Debuts Today

Abe gets a colorful makeover on copy-resistant bills

(Newser) - Honest Abe may've been a bit pasty and gaunt, but the public can now see him in a more vivid hue: The redesigned $5 bill, complete with splashes of purple designed to thwart pesky counterfeiters, is being released today. Lincoln keeps his place on the front, and his memorial on...

Japan Eyes Internet Crackdown
Japan Eyes Internet Crackdown

Japan Eyes Internet Crackdown

Tough new proposals protect children, copyrights

(Newser) - Japan has taken a relaxed approach to controlling the Internet in the past, but the government is planning to ratchet up regulation, Ars Technica reports. The communications ministry is looking at ways to bring web and mobile content in line with heavily regulated traditional media. Concerns are high about libelous...

Feds Give Abe's 5-Spot a Facelift
Feds Give Abe's 5-Spot a Facelift

Feds Give Abe's 5-Spot a Facelift

New currency includes pastels and redesigned watermarks to thwart couterfeiters

(Newser) - When you pull out a $5 bill next spring, you'll still see Honest Abe—but you'll also see a bunch of purple and gray, some big number fives, and new watermarks and security threads. Sick of pesky counterfeiters bleaching the fiver and turning it into a C-note, the feds unveiled...

The C-Note Gets a Facelift
The C-Note Gets a Facelift

The C-Note Gets a Facelift

New security thread aims to protect bill most targeted by foreign counterfeiters

(Newser) - Even Ben Franklin has a little work done every now and then. The $100 bill, which bears the founding father's image, is undergoing a state-of-the-art redesign aimed at thwarting counterfeiters who target the C-note more than any other denomination, the AP reports. The new security thread utilizes microprinting and 650,...

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