USPS money order security features - extended.

(continued)

• The security thread under UV light. If you happen to have a good UV light around, if you place the money order under it (face up), you'll see the band glow a dull orange. The "USPS" stuff won't be visible, though. Moreover, the orange will run behind the lines on the "pay to," "address," and "C.O.D." stuff. It should also intersect the "P" in "POSTAL" at the top.
  
  Now place the UV light behind the money order with the front facing you. You will now clearly be able to see the "USPS" (in bright, orange letters) against a darker orange background.
  
  Turn the money order to the back and place the UV light facing to shine from your point of view. The strip should now be brighter orange than it appeared from the same position on the front. Like the front, the "USPS" will not be seen from this orientation of the UV light and you.


• There is no microprint on the front. Unlike most checks, there does not appear to be microprint on the front. Instead, it's on the back (see below).


• The watermark is not necessarily centered. Although you can see the space where it should be (on the left), there wll not just be one watermark of the face centered, but rather a continuous line of faces; though, it's only likely that two full faces will make it on the actual money order itself-- the rest will get cut off.


• Color scheme of front. The overall document will go, from left to right, from orange to blueish-violetish back to orange, although there will always be a hint of orange-- except in the watermark oval, which is the same blueish-violetish color as toward the right side except that there is no orange bias. Everything in the orange section (i.e., doesn't include the watermark oval) is comprised of continuous but wavey lines that create the background by traversing the page at the same downward angle, from north-west to south-east. The blueish-violetish area on the right is composed of component straight teal lines with a shallow angle if you look at it very closely; for, the combination of the orange hue and the teal lines creates the blueish-violetish color when looked at normally.


• The serial number is also in UV on the back. At the bottom of the money order (long-ways)-- i.e., the opposite end of the endorsement area, the serial number is printed in brilliant, clear, bold, cyan-colored block lettering. There might be some artifact, however, from the printing process that is faintly seen as a barely noticeable trail of UV ink, though it's perfectly normal. It'll also be possible to smear it in the same way as normal ink if you have a moist/sweaty finger, though it shouldn't outright wipe off.


• Microprint / lines on back. There are three lines on the back examining it height-wise. The first is the "ENDORSEMENT SIGNATURE" line that is a regular line. The second is unlabeled, but it is a regular line. Right above the "WARNING--CASHIER" line there is the microprint line that repeats "US POSTAL SERVICE". I can't tell if there are actually spaces in between the words, as I don't have a magnifying glass on me, but it looks like there probably are.


• Paper threads in UV. On both sides of the money order, there will be short, UV-reactive threads in the paper that look like tiny worms. They'll either react fluorescent yellow or plain-ol light blue. They'll very from bright to faint, depending on their physical depth in the paper.


• Intentional printing artifact. It looks like the back intentionally offsets its print to be cut off toward the horizontal bottom. That is, the three lines are cut off, and the final "S" in "POSSESSIONS" are interrupted by the bottom of the page. In fact, the "S" is almost too perfectly sliced down the center for it to be an accidental artifact, and the receipt portion of the money orders does not show the presumed "S" from the prior money order. I might be wrong on this, though; however, I wouldn't worry if you do or do not find it when verifying-- especially if every other feature checks out.

... and that's about it. I don't have an IR camera on me, so I dunno if there is any infrared ink printing on there. Don't worry too much about the printing on the amount sections or misalignments. From the USPS site, it will be tamper evident if someone tries to change the numbers. As always, always check the word-printed amount before checking the digit-printed amount, as the word-printed amount requires more extensive alteration to the document than the digit-printed amount; and, the word-printed amount is what banks will fall back on anyway when it comes to any sort of check/money order. This will likely be the boldest text on the page. Of course, if you're used to dealing with checks, you already know this. :P

Don't worry about the "post office" number having an extra digit after the zip code. This is likely a tie-breaker if there are multiple post offices in a particular zip code.

The "clerk" print might be off (i.e., be a little too low or high), but this is okay.

Also, be sure that the "pay to" section is actually you and that it hasn't been altered. It requires little stretch of the imagination to picture someone either stealing someone's already-addressed money order while in transit and merely attempting to change the "pay to" to see if you look over it too quickly.

Last but not least, if you ever doubt authenticity, drop by your local post office and they'll be more than happy to verify it for you. If that's too much of a pain in the ass, go out and grab a magnifying glass and order a 375nm Streamlight Stylus LED UV for all of your UV-checking needs. The <400nm range is key, because several UV-reactive inks (including red-- the one in used in the security strip) don't fluoresce well under cheap "UV" LED lights, which tend to be equal to or greater than 400nm lights. If you have an actual fluorescent tube, though, you're good to go; of course, it's impractical to carry from place to place when compared to the slim Streamlight.

Lemme know if I'm missing anything or if anything's inaccurate.

Cheers.