Pokemon cards from a set purportedly produced to playtest the game in the 1990s have distinctive patterns of dots added by modern printers. The dots come in various patterns (such as the famed Eurion Constellation) and may identify specific models of printer and include timestamps. Though developed to identify counterfeit currency, they don't care who they snitch on—as can be seen here. Forensic Pokemon masters decoded the Pokédots and found the cards to be only a year old.
pfm, an admin at the Elite Forum Pokémon site, explains the context:
A slew of cards that were originally believed to be early prototype and cards used for playtesting have been appearing in public auction starting in 2024. Most are believed to trace back to Takumi Akabane – someone who was involved in the early development of the TCG. Because these cards are printed from a home/office printer, many of them have tracking dots. And many have a dot patter that suggest a print date in 2024. Note the decoding result. We see this serial number reoccur across many cards. Date: 2024-6-29 at 8:17 — Printer Serial Number: 704641508
Fugazi! Someone is definitely getting in trouble, obviously, but this also exposes a chain of problems in the collectible card business. What do these "grading" companies do, exactly? They validate authenticity as well as condition. From the discussion at Elite Forum, it's clear that the dots would be detectable with a magnifying glass operated by experts and detectable with a scanner operated by anyone.
That said, these forgeries display a level of sophistication beyond the norm. Most attempts are more obvious. After Calibri became the new default typeface in Microsoft Word, for example, it immediately began exposing clueless forgers who didn't know to change their fake documents to Times New Roman.
Telltale repetitions of distressing expose typewriter fonts. Inkjet printers spit tiny flecks of ink everywhere that date a document to no earlier than 1984. Hyperspectral imaging and spectrometry can identify the chemical composition of ink. Forgers have a lot to think about!
Previously:
• Forged Disney art on eBay
• Forged early Apple employee ID sleuthed—but still sold for a wee fortune on eBay
• Brazen forgery was art world's 'most brilliant' con
• Library's prized manuscript page written by Galileo, not written by Galileo