Dri Mark Products is a world leader in the world of counterfeit detection, as well as the original patent holder of the iconic Counterfeit Detector Pen. Today, Dri Mark is known for their wide range of detection solutions, American manufacturing and for the production of high quality custom markers.

During the early days of ecommerce, iTestCash was one of the first companies to hold inventory of Dri Mark’s detector pens. Today, we are proud to carry a wide variety of Dri Mark’s detection solutions as well as some of their bestselling craft markers. We sat down with Dri Mark’s Marketing Manager, Michelle Gienau to see what she had to say about our partnership and the state of counterfeiting in 2022…

Q: Given the current economic landscape, specifically in dealing with the aftermath of a big pandemic, do you think counterfeiting trends have changed for better or worse? (IE- have the economic times potentially influenced counterfeit rings to keep going)

A: The sad truth is that for the last few years, personal finances have been tough. The pandemic put an incredible strain on small businesses and in return many people saw themselves out of work. That combined with inflation on the rise, the price of basic necessities like clothing, food and gas have become astronomical. Every day, we see more and more news reports on the production of counterfeit cash as well as businesses and individuals being scammed out of money and goods. Really nobody is safe, I’ve read about incidents as small as kids selling lemonade or Girl Scout cookies and being given phony money and as large as shipments of counterfeit money being seized by border patrol. Implementing a system to verify cash payments is imperative and an easy way to do so, are Dri Mark detection solutions.

Q: What are currently the top 2 selling counterfeit detection products at Dri Mark?

A: The classic Counterfeit Detector Pen is always a top seller for us. The pen is iconic, low cost and easy to implement. But however easy the detector pen is to use; it does have its’ downfalls. Specifically, when it comes to bleached bills. Bleached bills are when counterfeiters take genuine low value bills like $1’s and $5’s and use chemicals to strip the ink from the paper. The stripped paper is then reprinted on with higher denominations like $20’s, $50’s and $100’s. And because the paper is genuine these bleached bills fool the detector pen and give false positive test results.

This brings us to our next bestselling product, the Flash Test. With three innovative tests the Flash Test is an all-in-one detection solution for cash and ID’s. Use the lightning-fast ink sensor to check for counterfeit in ½ a second. UV and watermark tests are also included in the unit for an extra layer of protection. The Flash Test works perfectly on “bleached” bills, and most other common counterfeits, including ink jet and laser copies.

Q: As money counterfeiting technology has grown over the past years, what Dri Mark counterfeit products do you think do the best job to detect these advanced fake bills circulating in the United States?

A: The ink sensor on the Flash Test is incredibly innovative and works to test the actual ink that is used to print genuine US currency. The Flash Test is quick and easy to use and 99.9% accurate. But really, any product that features UV detection tests like the UV Pro or the Tri Test are incredibly reliable.

Q: What would be your top 1-3 tips for retailers and businesses to protect themselves and their communities from being left with fake currency?

A: Having a counterfeit detector at your register in it of itself is a huge deterrent. Counterfeiters are less likely to use phony cash if they know that your registers are protected by a detection solution. So, leave your detectors out in plain sight and post signs saying that your registers are protected by Dri Mark!