Counterfeit

Did you know that the same organization which acts as a bodyguard for the United States President also investigates counterfeit currency cases? The United States Secret Service has people committed full-time to dealing with counterfeit issues.

I've always found it interesting that there are people who are capable of producing something which looks so much like the real thing though it is worthless. And I suppose that its interesting in general that there are circumstances in which something can look, smell, sound, and feel like the "real" thing though it simply is not real.

But I remember from my banking days that the primary instruction from the Secret Service on how to detect counterfeit is to be thoroughly familiar with the original, the legitimate "thing", whatever that may be.