diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 841bb7e..26163d8 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -6,9 +6,12 @@ See the accompanying LICENSE file for terms.
 
 'use strict';
 
+var randomBytes = require('randombytes');
+
 // Generate an internal UID to make the regexp pattern harder to guess.
-var UID                 = Math.floor(Math.random() * 0x10000000000).toString(16);
-var PLACE_HOLDER_REGEXP = new RegExp('"@__(F|R|D|M|S|U|I)-' + UID + '-(\\d+)__@"', 'g');
+var UID_LENGTH          = 16;
+var UID                 = generateUID();
+var PLACE_HOLDER_REGEXP = new RegExp('(\\\\)?"@__(F|R|D|M|S|U|I)-' + UID + '-(\\d+)__@"', 'g');
 
 var IS_NATIVE_CODE_REGEXP = /\{\s*\[native code\]\s*\}/g;
 var IS_PURE_FUNCTION = /function.*?\(/;
@@ -31,6 +34,15 @@ function escapeUnsafeChars(unsafeChar) {
     return ESCAPED_CHARS[unsafeChar];
 }
 
+function generateUID() {
+    var bytes = randomBytes(UID_LENGTH);
+    var result = '';
+    for(var i=0; i<UID_LENGTH; ++i) {
+        result += bytes[i].toString(16);
+    }
+    return result;
+}
+
 function deleteFunctions(obj){
     var functionKeys = [];
     for (var key in obj) {
@@ -187,7 +199,14 @@ module.exports = function serialize(obj, options) {
     // Replaces all occurrences of function, regexp, date, map and set placeholders in the
     // JSON string with their string representations. If the original value can
     // not be found, then `undefined` is used.
-    return str.replace(PLACE_HOLDER_REGEXP, function (match, type, valueIndex) {
+    return str.replace(PLACE_HOLDER_REGEXP, function (match, backSlash, type, valueIndex) {
+        // The placeholder may not be preceded by a backslash. This is to prevent
+        // replacing things like `"a\"@__R-<UID>-0__@"` and thus outputting
+        // invalid JS.
+        if (backSlash) {
+            return match;
+        }
+
         if (type === 'D') {
             return "new Date(\"" + dates[valueIndex].toISOString() + "\")";
         }
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index fbf7630..f101e96 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1592,6 +1592,14 @@
         "fromentries": "^1.2.0"
       }
     },
+    "randombytes": {
+      "version": "2.1.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/randombytes/-/randombytes-2.1.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-vYl3iOX+4CKUWuxGi9Ukhie6fsqXqS9FE2Zaic4tNFD2N2QQaXOMFbuKK4QmDHC0JO6B1Zp41J0LpT0oR68amQ==",
+      "requires": {
+        "safe-buffer": "^5.1.0"
+      }
+    },
     "readdirp": {
       "version": "3.2.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/readdirp/-/readdirp-3.2.0.tgz",
@@ -1649,8 +1657,7 @@
     "safe-buffer": {
       "version": "5.1.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/safe-buffer/-/safe-buffer-5.1.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-Gd2UZBJDkXlY7GbJxfsE8/nvKkUEU1G38c1siN6QP6a9PT9MmHB8GnpscSmMJSoF8LOIrt8ud/wPtojys4G6+g==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-Gd2UZBJDkXlY7GbJxfsE8/nvKkUEU1G38c1siN6QP6a9PT9MmHB8GnpscSmMJSoF8LOIrt8ud/wPtojys4G6+g=="
     },
     "semver": {
       "version": "5.7.1",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 36073d1..12b3954 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -29,5 +29,8 @@
     "chai": "^4.1.0",
     "mocha": "^7.0.0",
     "nyc": "^15.0.0"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "randombytes": "^2.1.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/test/unit/serialize.js b/test/unit/serialize.js
index 3944344..88b3603 100644
--- a/test/unit/serialize.js
+++ b/test/unit/serialize.js
@@ -1,9 +1,23 @@
 /* global describe, it, beforeEach */
 'use strict';
 
+// temporarily monkeypatch `crypto.randomBytes` so we'll have a
+// predictable UID for our tests
+var crypto = require('crypto');
+var oldRandom = crypto.randomBytes;
+crypto.randomBytes = function(len, cb) {
+    var buf = Buffer.alloc(len);
+    buf.fill(0x00);
+    if (cb)
+        cb(null, buf);
+    return buf;
+};
+
 var serialize = require('../../'),
     expect    = require('chai').expect;
 
+crypto.randomBytes = oldRandom;
+
 describe('serialize( obj )', function () {
     it('should be a function', function () {
         expect(serialize).to.be.a('function');
@@ -493,4 +507,17 @@ describe('serialize( obj )', function () {
             expect(serialize([1], 2)).to.equal('[\n  1\n]');
         });
     });
+
+    describe('placeholders', function() {
+        it('should not be replaced within string literals', function () {
+            // Since we made the UID deterministic this should always be the placeholder
+            var fakePlaceholder = '"@__R-0000000000000000-0__@';
+            var serialized = serialize({bar: /1/i, foo: fakePlaceholder}, {uid: 'foo'});
+            var obj = eval('(' + serialized + ')');
+            expect(obj).to.be.a('Object');
+            expect(obj.foo).to.be.a('String');
+            expect(obj.foo).to.equal(fakePlaceholder);
+        });
+    });
+
 });