We have an integrated mission of protection and financial investigations to ensure the safety and security of our protectees, key locations, and events of national significance. We also protect the integrity of our currency, and investigate crimes against the U.S. financial system committed by criminals around the world and in cyberspace.
Worthy of Trust and Confidence
We are one of America’s oldest federal law enforcement agencies, originally created in 1865 to stamp out rampant counterfeiting in order to stabilize America’s young financial system. By the end of the Civil War, nearly one-third of all currency in circulation was counterfeit. As a result, the country’s financial stability was in jeopardy. To address this concern, the Secret Service was established in 1865 as a bureau in the Treasury Department to suppress widespread counterfeiting.