Counterfeit document

A fake ID made from scratch to look like the real thing.

Nothing about the document is genuine. Someone designed and printed it to imitate an official ID, including its layout and its security features.

A document fabricated without issuer authority that imitates genuine security features.

Counterfeits vary in quality:

• Low-quality fakes copy the general look and fail close inspection.
• High-quality fakes reproduce fonts, layouts, and some security features convincingly.

Catching a counterfeit usually involves comparing it with a reference:

1. The system identifies the document type, such as a particular country's ID from a given year.
2. It compares the layout, fonts, colors, and printing with the genuine template.
3. It inspects the security features that the genuine document carries.
4. It checks that the data agrees with itself, such as the printed text against the barcode.

Counterfeit documents sit next to terms that are easy to mix up:

• Forged document is a genuine document that was altered, while a counterfeit is fabricated.
• Document verification is the check that looks for counterfeits and other fakes.
• Security features are the markers that a counterfeit has to imitate.