Annals of Financial Crime: Supernotes and North Korea

The Supernote family of counterfeit notes was first detected in 1989. Its primary significance is that it is of such high quality that it often goes undetected until it reaches the Federal Reserve Bank. Since its initial discovery, the investigation into its origin and distribution has been a top priority for the Secret Service. The Supernote investigation is an ongoing strategic case with national security implications. This investigation has spanned the globe, involving more than 130 countries and resulting in more than 170 arrests.

The Supernote primarily circulates outside of the United States. Though collectively referred to as the Supernote, it is actually a family of different versions of $100 and $50 denomination counterfeit notes, all of which are circularized by the Secret Service. These sophisticated counterfeits range from older series $100 notes which bear the smaller portrait, to counterfeits of more recently redesigned ‘big head’ notes - to include the latest version of the 2003 series.

The Supernote is printed using the same intaglio and typographic printing methods as those employed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the production of genuine U.S. currency. The Supernote is also printed on reverse-engineered paper which is of similar composition to that used in the printing of genuine U.S. currency. Present in the Supernote paper are security features such as red and blue security fibers, a security thread, and a watermark. This family of counterfeit notes is continually evolving as we discover better, more deceptive versions of the Supernote. These new versions show corrections or improvements in the flaws which are used by banking and law enforcement to detect them.