Casinos fight a never-ending battle against forgers, counterfeiters

John Wilen

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998 | 11:31 a.m.

The advent of the personal computer and the corresponding ease with which anyone can publish professional-looking documents on their desktop is making difficult the lives of casino employees charged with intercepting counterfeit bills, checks, documents and credit cards.

The best way to deal with the problem is to learn the counterfeiter's tricks, and to be ever-vigilant, said a panel of experts at a recent Casino Management Association seminar.

"Our message is that anybody can be a victim," said Pamela Shinkle, president and chief executive of Central Credit, a company that compiles databases of credit information for the casino industry, much like firms that compile credit information for the credit card industry. "This technology is making their jobs easier and it's really paying off."

Though counterfeiting is generally a non-violent "white collar" crime, it accounts for a much higher volume of theft than crimes like burglary or robbery, said Shinkle.

"A person who steals money with a pen steals more money than a person with a gun," Shinkle said.

Casinos can be victimized by a number of counterfeiting schemes. The oldest method is the passing of counterfeit currency. Ronald Weiss, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service, said modern technology allows counterfeiters to easily duplicate the look and feel of real currency.

A bill can easily be scanned into a computer and reproduced in high quality using a laser printer, Shinkle said.

"They're using systems ... that aren't special in any way," said Shinkle.

Commercial sprays such as Kilz and Scotch Guard can be used to solidify paper and give it body, making a counterfeit bill feel real, Weiss said.

In some cases, counterfeit bills actually duplicate some of the anti-counterfeiting devices present in real currency, Weiss said. Several years ago, counterfeiters discovered that Xerox copiers print with carbonated ink. Carbonated ink carries a magnetic charge, one of the things bill validators use to determine whether a bill is real.

Of the $20,000 in counterfeit currency Weiss' office sees each week, $15,000 has been created with desktop software and only $5,000 has been printed on old-style offset printing presses, Weiss said.

In addition to bills, stolen credit cards, retired gaming chips and forged documents present problems for casinos. Fake credit cards can be used to pay bills or get cash advances. Forged documents can be used to "prove" fake identities or assets, which can in turn be used in applications for casino credit.

Years ago, said Shinkle, casinos got rid of old gambling chips by tying them up in bags and dropping them to the bottom of Lake Mead, or by burying them under parking lots. Over time, the chips resurface and people try to cash them, she said.

But the most common form of counterfeiting involves checks.

"The real danger, of course, is with counterfeit checks," said Shinkle.

Checks are even easier to duplicate with a scanner and personal computer than currency, said Gene Olewinski, a forgery detective with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. A blank payroll check can easily be scanned and altered with a computer, Olewinski said. And computers can be used to create realistic checks from scratch which, when printed on blank checks bought from an office supply store, can fool even the most suspicious of cashiers, he said.

"We had our first case today from the Bellagio," said Olewinski, speaking on Oct. 20, five days after the Bellagio hotel-casino opened.

Olewinski sees an average of 300 to 350 check forgery cases each month.

A scam Olewinski has seen over the last year is run by Los Angeles gang members who come to Las Vegas, deposit stolen checks into bank accounts at night and then come into the bank the next day to withdraw cash using fake identification.

In another common scam, counterfeiters pay busboys or other low-level employees cash in exchange for their payroll check. The check is then used as a template to create valid-looking counterfeit checks.

Shinkle recounted a story of a New York woman who was arrested for running a counterfeiting ring. She was bailed out of jail -- with a counterfeit check, Shinkle said. The woman is still at large.

"It is so easy for these guys to do it, they are experts," said Don Obritsch, a Las Vegas-based postal inspector.

There are a variety of ways to detect and intercept counterfeit currency and documents, the experts said. Most importantly, to prevent being victimized, casinos should take special precautions with their trash and their mail.

"Really think about the security of your mail," said Obritsch.

Mail containing valuable documents and checks should not be left unattended or put out a night, Obritsch said. And all trash should be shredded.

Checks brought to a cage for cashing can be double-checked in a number of ways, said Olewinski. If in doubt, a cashier should ask the person cashing a check for a copy of the check stub -- the portion of a payroll check that itemizes withholding taxes. Most counterfeiters don't think far enough ahead to counterfeit check stubs, Olewinski said.

Another simple method is to ask the person cashing a check for some kind of work-related identification, such as a badge or business card. Obritsch suggested that suspicious cashiers look up the phone number of the business that issued the check in the phone book and call to confirm the person's employment.

It's important to look up the business' phone number rather than call the number printed on the check, said Obritsch. Some counterfeiters set up phone numbers specifically to fool diligent cashiers, said Obritsch.

Olewinski also counsels a "red light" approach to counterfeit detection. If someone attempts to cash an $1,800 payroll check from Pizza Hut or Burger King, be extra diligent, Olewinski said.

Detecting counterfeit currency is another matter altogether, said Weiss. Casino employees who handle money regularly should be trained to identify the various anti-fraud components added to currency in recent years and to detect their absence in fake currency.

Valid bills contain a security thread, known serial numbers, color-shifting ink, microprinting and other devices designed to make counterfeiting difficult.

Francine Ferrero, president of Counterfeit Currency Consultants, spoke to the CMA group about a number of CCC devices designed to detect counterfeit currency. The company makes scanning devices that beep when a bill lacking a common security feature is passed. One device, the Money Lab, uses ultraviolet light and a magnetic detector to help cashiers tell whether a bill is real or fake.

"In the counterfeiting area, prevention is the key word," said Ferrero.