Apathy House :: Fakes, Frauds and Facelifts: How to identify counterfeit and altered Magic cards v3.0

1.0 There are fake Magic cards???
2.0 Am I in danger of being scammed?
3.0 How will I know one when I see one?
    3.1 My Mox looks a little weird, is it fake?
    3.2 Common alterations
        3.2.1 Colored borders
        3.2.2 Rebacked cards
    3.3 Various ways to test your card
        3.3.1 Comparison
        3.3.2 The Bend Test
        3.3.3 The Light Test
        3.3.4 The Water Test
        3.3.5 The Microwave Test
        3.3.6 The Blacklight Test
    3.4 Testing foils
4.0 Some important things to know about the real cards
5.0 Some examples
6.0 Contributors

3.2.2 Rebacked cards

Another common alteration is to reback a card. This is a process where the back of an unmarked, playable card is combined with the front of either a Collector's Edition card or a card that would otherwise be marked. The two cards are shaved down or peeled in half and then glued together. These tend to be slightly thicker and tougher than a regular card. If you have a card where the front is worn but the back is mint, chances are good it has been rebacked. Take a close look at the edge of a card and compare it with a real one. Use a magnifying glass if you have one. Sometimes the edge can be hidden by slight buffing with sandpaper, however a bend test will usually bring this line back out.

Fake edge

Real edge

It's not noticeable in this picture, but real cards also have a thin blue line through the middle. I managed to get the left over front half of a card whose back was removed. The dark color on the right is the blue part that can be seen on the edge of a real card.