News

Kiosk catches counterfeit cash

August 7, 2013

Counterfeit banknotes pose a financial risk to correctional facilities throughout the U.S., but the sheriff's office in Bergen County, N.J., has found a way to combat the spread of fake notes with the addition to their booking process of a Global TelLink OffenderConnect intake kiosk.

On two recent occasions, the intake kiosk at the Bergen County jail detected counterfeit bills in funds brought by individuals as they were being booked into the correctional facility, according to a news release from Global TelLink. In both instances, the billswere part of a large amount of bills deposited into the inmates' trust fund account.

Bergen County officers were alerted to the presence of the counterfeit notes when they were rejected by the OffenderConnect intake kiosk.

Detecting counterfeit currency as it is deposited by inmates at booking, rather than when deposits are taken to the bank, allows the sheriff's office to avoid financial losses, and allows the county to provide both the currency and the identity of the inmate in possession of it to the U.S. Secret Service for investigation.

Prior to installing the OffenderConnect intake kiosk, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office absorbed all losses from counterfeit bills accepted from inmates being processed, the company said in the release.

"We have been hit with phony bills in the past," said Lieutenant Michael Russo of the Bergen County Sheriff's Office. "If you don't catch them, the chain of custody is broken, so even if you suspect who passed the bills, you can't tie it to them."

Without an individual to tie the counterfeit bills to, the sheriff's office has no way to recoup the funds deposited to an inmate's account, resulting in losses for the county. And counterfeit bills are getting harder to detect as counterfeiters adapt to technologies designed to identify fakes.

This makes successful detection by technology like the OffenderConnect intake kiosk all the more valuable, the company said. "I think this machine is very effective at detecting counterfeit bills," Russo said.

Learn more about kiosk hardware.