How do you check if a card is real?
In short: I compare it against reference material with a set of named checks: print pattern and rosette under magnification, font and text layout, colour and saturation, layering and card stock, weight and thickness, a light test, and holographic pattern where it applies. Every check is photographed.
No single test proves a card is real. Fakes that pass one check usually fail another, so the method is a set of independent checks, each recorded.
Print pattern and rosette
Genuine cards are printed with a characteristic dot pattern. Under magnification the rosette shows whether the card was printed the way the reference was. Many counterfeits are printed differently and show it clearly at this level.
Font and text layout
The typeface, weight, spacing and position of text, symbols and set marks are compared against a reference copy. Small differences in letterforms or alignment are a common tell.
Colour and saturation
Counterfeits are often too saturated, too dark or too washed out. I compare against a reference in the same light.
Layering and card stock
Genuine cards are built in layers. The edge and the feel of the stock, and how the card behaves, are compared with known examples.
Weight and thickness
A counterfeit printed on the wrong stock often weighs or measures differently. Both are measured and recorded.
Light test
Light passing through the card behaves differently depending on its construction. The result is photographed.
Holographic pattern
Where the card has foil or holo, the pattern is compared with the reference for that card.
Recording every step
Each check is named on the sheet with its photograph and its finding. If a check cannot be done (for example, because the card is sealed in a slab or I am working from photographs), the sheet says so. The conclusion follows from the checks, not the other way round. Photographs are kept under the retention and consent policy.
Shops that want their staff to learn the same checks can take the fake-detection course.