New technology is stopping counterfeiters in their tracks but the newly protected money is also tripping up vigilant consumers.

Acting Detective Inspector Edward Davies of the Bermuda Police Service Commercial Crime Department said that, following the introduction of the latest US $20 bill, many people have been handing in real bills to Police after mistaking them for counterfeits.

?A lot of people think that it?s a counterfeit when it?s really a new issue,? he said.

The new bills are easier to identify and harder to forge but those unaccustomed to the new look are questioning the authenticity of the bills.

Police said there are important points that can be looked for that are often missed.

?A good magnifying glass is an essential item to have when checking counterfeit notes,? Acting Det. Insp. Davies said.

He added that special markers designed to check if a note is real or forged are often useless.

?The markers just check to see if the money is on the proper currency paper. But people can bleach a bill and reprint the money. You end up with a false negative.?

Vendors often miss the small details marked on notes and upon first glance some notes are difficult to distinguish as being real or fake.

Acting Det. Insp. Davies showed how to examine for forged bills and gave examples of how easy it is for counterfeit money to make its way into circulation.

One $50 that was handed in to the Fraud Unit had pornographic scenes printed where the front portrait and the back vignette are normally placed.

?This bill was in circulation so it is obvious how people miss counterfeit bills ? how can you miss that?? he said.

Other potential signs of a forged bill are less noticeable such as the 13 stars in the treasury seal.

With the aid of a magnifying glass the small dots in the emblem on the right side of the front of the bill are shaped into stars. On the forged bill the dots are unevenly scattered and some even bleed together.

The latest US $20 bill was issued on October 9 and features new technology traits to decrease counterfeiting.

Characteristics to look for include a large blue eagle in the background to the left of President Andrew Jackson?s portrait. The president?s portrait is also not framed although it was in the earlier series.

Microprinting is featured in two places on the front of the new bill and, like the 13 stars in the Treasury seal, its characteristics are difficult to replicate.

Along the first three letters of the TWENTY USA in the background on the right side of the bill is the inscription USA20 around the border.

On the right side of the portrait, under the Treasurer?s signature are the words The United States of America 20 USA 20.

The 20 in the lower, right hand corner on the front of the bill changes colour ? as did the old $20 bill ? but the colour is more orange. The inscribed security thread is also kept in the new bill.

Like the Bermuda dollars, which feature a fish, the watermark symbol of the president featured on each bill is still present in the right hand of the front of the bill.

?The US $20 is the most forged because vendors will check the $50 and $100 bills and some places won?t even take them,? Acting Det. Insp. Davies said.

?With the new technology on the $20 we?ve received less of these bills,? he added.