The Treasury Department,
the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Secret Service issued
their third collaborative report today on the use and counterfeiting
of U.S. currency abroad. The report revealed that while
more than half of circulated U.S. banknotes are held in
other countries, counterfeiting incidents remain low.
"People all over the world look to
American currency for safety and security," said U.S.
Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral. "I am pleased to learn
that while counterfeiters may try to undermine the integrity
of our money, American vigilance has upheld its reliability."
"An efficient payment system and healthy
economy require a sound currency," said Federal Reserve
Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn. "The Federal Reserve
recognizes that the dollar is widely used outside the United
States, and is deeply committed to preserving its integrity."
"U.S. currency is recognized as a symbol
of stability and integrity around the world," said
Michael Merritt, Deputy Assistant Director, U.S. Secret
Service. "Thanks in great measure to a three-pronged
strategy of public education, aggressive enforcement, and
regular currency redesigns, counterfeiting of U.S. currency
has remained at consistently low levels."
Residents of countries with unpredictable
political and economic conditions have used U.S. currency
as a means of reliability for decades. The report estimated
that about $450 billion of the $760 billion in circulation
as of December 2005 is held abroad.
The international popularity of U.S. currency
makes it an obvious target for counterfeiters. But the report
estimates that of U.S. notes in circulation abroad and at
home, only about one note in 10,000 is counterfeit.
The report attributes this low level of incidents to extensive
U.S. data gathering, education efforts, law enforcement
and communications with banks around the world. Additionally,
the introduction of the new currency design starting in
1996 and related educational outreach around the world made
counterfeit detection easier.
The study reaches five major conclusions
about the counterfeiting of U.S. currency:
-- The average incidence of counterfeit
U.S. currency passing is generally low both inside and
outside the United States, notwithstanding occasional
large seizures of uncirculated counterfeits.
-- Foreign banks and law enforcement agencies are eager
to develop links with the U.S. Secret Service to detect
and suppress counterfeiting activity.
-- The interagency counterfeiting group has strengthened
working relationships between the Secret Service and foreign
financial and law enforcement organizations, which allowed
for improved investigations and training.
-- When counterfeit notes are found overseas, procedures
invoked within each country vary widely. A lack of legal
authority for banks and cash handlers to confiscate suspected
or actual counterfeit U.S. currency increases concern
about counterfeiting and hampers enforcement.
-- The Secret Service U.S. Dollars Counterfeit Note Search
website established in 1999, www.usdollars.usss.gov,
has been extremely effective in aiding banks and cash
handlers, their customers, and law enforcement in tracking
and identifying counterfeit notes.
This study is the last in a series of reports
and provides updates to the first reports issued in 2000
and 2003. Much of the information presented in the earlier
reports remains valid today.
The Use
And Counterfeiting of US Currency Abroad report is available
online from the Treasury Department's Website.
Source: US
Treasury Department
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