Fakes of new $20 US bill already circulating

They've been in circulation for only three weeks, but the new United States $20 bill touted by the government as the "most secure U.S. currency ever" is already being counterfeited.

Authorities in Brockton, Mass., south of Boston, report that computer-generated forgeries of the new, colourful $20 bills have popped up at local establishments.

Because the bills are so new, counterfeiters apparently caught shopkeepers unaware.

Meanwhilie, the U.S. government is spending about $33 million US spreading the word about the new notes.

The new $20 bill features a colour besides green for the first time. It has blue, yellow and peach. The bill also has a watermark and a security thread.

• FROM Oct. 9, 2003: U.S. gets new $20 bill...with full colour

It's all part of an attempt to foil counterfeiters, who were finding it increasingly easy to replicate the old greenbacks with digital scanners and printers.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department, says there are one or two counterfeit bills in circulation for every 10,000 genuine bills.