U.S. Government Uses the 'net to Launch new $5 Bill

The U.S. government is hip to technology, using the Internet as its launchpad for the newly-redesigned $5 bill. A Wi-5 preview held today online features several government officials discussing the new design, along with a Q&A session, and posted podcasts.

If you ask me, all U.S. money looks the same, but each bill does include a host of security features to help prevent counterfeiting. Of course, this new $5 bill is redesigned in such a way to make creating fakes virtually impossible.

What I don't understand is why it's deemed necessary to outline to the public exactly what each of these features entails, and how they are achieved. In fact, I saw an entire TV special recently that walked you through the U.S. facility for printing money, and discussed how each and every process was conducted. I'm not naive enough to think that criminals can't figure some of the details out on their own, but why make it easy for them by outlining each and every new security feature?

Anyway, since the information has been released, I might as well propagate it here. Redesigned features of the new $5 bill include:

-two watermarks: one large number 5 to the right of the portrait; and a column of three, smaller 5s to the left

- an embedded security thread runing vertically, to the right of the portrait, and with the letters "USA" followed by the number 5 in an alternating patterns along the thread from both sides. The thread glows blue under ultraviolet light.

- a purple, American symbol of freedom printed in the background, featuring an eagle and shield

- a high-contrast, purple inked large number 5 in the lower right corner of the back that aids the visually impaired

- the oval borders around President Lincoln's portrait on the front and Lincoln Memorial vignette on the back have been removed, and the engravings enhanced

- an arc of purple stars surrounding the portrait

- small, yellow 05s printed on the front and back of the bill

- light purple in the centre that blends into the gray near the edges

Many of the changes were made in an effort to eliminate previously existing similarities between the $5 and $100 bill that made it easy to create a counterfeit $100 from a $5.

The new $5 bill will begin circulation early next year; and a new $100 bill will follow shortly thereafter.

Another DVD Piracy Ring Busted

Another counterfeit DVD shop was busted in Canada. In Mississauga, ON, just 30 minutes west of Toronto, Ontario police seized more than 75,000 illegal copies of recent hit movies, including Michael Moore’s Sicko, and The Simpsons Movie. Reports indicate that this operation, which was filmed by CBC News hidden camera, managed to create and sell copies of The Simpsons Movie a mere 14 hours after it hit theatres! As for profit, although undoubtedly healthy for those involved, this wasn’t at the expense of a consumer’s deep pockets: the discs sold for just $4 a piece!

In February of this year, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) pegged Canada as a leading manufacturer and exporter of bootlegged movies such as those just seized, and illegal devices that facilitate pirated activity, like “modification chips” used to allow counterfeit games to be played on videogame consoles. In fact, the IIPA said that the issue of unauthorized camcording in Canada (where someone secretly films a movie in the theatre, then creates copied discs of said recording) is nearing “crisis” levels: in 2006, 20-25 per cent of pirated DVDs discovered were sourced back to Canada!

According to CBC News, the recently squashed Mississauga, ON operation had produced likely close to $21 million worth of blockbuster movies. What’s baffling is that many of the store’s “regular” customers had no problem providing their names and phone numbers for the company files; and some even stopped by as the accused were being arrested, and asked when the store would re-open! Canadians either don’t understand that counterfeit DVDs are illegal; or they simply don’t care.

It will be interesting to hear what the IIPA and the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) have to say about this: in May 2007, the CACN set out an action plan for the government to address problems relating to counterfeiting and piracy. This incident is sure to add fuel to its fire.

Will You Pay By Chip or Stripe?

Us Canucks certainly love our debit and credit cards: carrying around cash is just sooo passé! Of course along with electronic payments comes the risk of fraud, identity theft, and counterfeiting: an issue that has been running rampant in the country over the past few years. An Ipsos Reid study in February 2005 reported that two millions Canadians had been affected by identity theft. In an effort to reduce such incidences, we’re seeing more and more chip-enabled terminals surfacing.

What are these? Debit or credit cards with chips embedded in them, such as RBC’s Platinum Avion VISA card, are inserted into a chip-enabled machine, and remain in the machine until the customer has completed the transaction. With standard magnetic stripe cards, the customer swipes his card, or inserts and immediately removes it, then proceeds with the transaction. According to RBC, chip-embedded cards provide “increased protection against counterfeiting and skimming fraud”.

A trial run using cards with this new technology is set to take place in Kitchener-Waterloo, ON this fall, in hopes to eventually roll out the technology across all cards, ATMs, and retail terminals in Canada. RBC, who has just announced 10 million successful chip transactions, says it plans to switch from the standard signature method to a PIN code for its Avion VISA customers in the future. Moneris Solutions already offers more than 75,000 chip-enabled point-of-sale units across Canada.

Although I’ve luckily never been the victim of a major identity theft incident, I have had unauthorized purchases made on a credit card for minimal amounts. When asked how this could possibly have happened (after all, I knew for a fact that, at the date and time of the purchases, I was at home with my wallet, and VISA card, in my possession!), my bank told me that a “fake” version of my card could simply have been made by someone skimming the information from a machine. It made me shudder to even think someone could, and would, do such a thing.

Hopefully a Canada-wide chip-based system will help put a stop to identity theft and credit card fraud.

Canadians Are Pirates

Today, the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (wait, we have one of those?) presented a study to the governmental powers-that-be that outlines a proposed plan to combat piracy in Canada. Will it work?

For anyone who thinks piracy here is small in comparison to other countries, think again. We're actually behind many developing countries (yes, you read that right) in instituting proper measures that would prevent the prevalence of everything from fake copies of the latest film release, to bogus, "cracked" software applications.

In fact, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) says that Canada is the leading manufacturer and exporter of bootlegged movies and illegal devices that facilitate pirated activity, like “modification chips” used to allow counterfeit games to be played on videogame consoles. Apparently we're also the place to go for content if you want to make pirated reproductions of movies (via concealed camcorders in movie theatres, for example). The IIPA sourced back 20-25 per cent of pirated DVDs to Canada! Who ever said Canada wasn't tops in anything?

All joking aside, piracy is a serious issue. For every person that buys a pirated DVD or piece of software, that's one less legitimate copy that gets sold. This means profits are down for everyone involved and, in some cases, can result in the loss of jobs. Many sources, including the RCMP, estimate economy losses related to piracy to be in the billions of dollars.

Yet despite this knowledge, people continue to grab DVDs from some hole-in-the-wall store. Why? Because they're 5 for $20, that's why. Who cares if the cover of the DVD is a photocopy of the actual DVD jacket? Or if Russian subtitles run across the bottom of the screen? Or I have to watch some guy’s silhouette in the theatre as he gets up for a bathroom break during the flick? There are many who wouldn’t even think of watching such horrible-quality recordings, but judging from the number of pirated movies circulating in the country, it's safe to assume there are just as many who would.

So how do we stop these "thieves" from perpetrating again? Should manufacturers spend less on the quality of their products and more on bringing the costs at retail down? Probably not. Whether the problem is high prices, accessibility, or simply “stickin’ it to the man”, people will continue to buy pirated products as long as they are available. All we can do is take measures to eliminate the people who sell them.

Does this mean hiring more cops, or taking some off the streets (how about those pesky parking cops?) and putting them on a special piracy task force? Do we start fining huge amounts of money for possessing, or selling pirated DVDs? Do we raid shops and throw the culprits in jail for the night to “teach them a lesson?” Call me crazy, but I can't see how shoving over the murderers and drug dealers to make room for the dude selling copies of Spiderman 3 from the back of his truck is the solution.

The CACN proposes, among other things, tougher punishments, more resources dedicated to the issue (including police officers and educational programs), and stricter enforcements at the border. And the CACN cites a survey that says almost half of Canadians would call me crazy, and throw guilty parties in the slammer.

Whatever the solution, piracy is a problem that has only been getting worse in Canada. I don't know anyone who hasn't owned, or at least seen, a pirated copy of something or other: a DVD release of a movie that just came out in theatres; a pirated version of the latest PC software; or an MP3 track downloaded from an illegal, P2P Website. The suggestions CACN proposes are a step in the right direction, but we’re still far off from ridding the country of pirated product.

As a sidenote for those interested: the most “guilty” regions for piracy in Canada include Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Toronto and Markham, Ontario; and Montreal, Quebec.