Signature forgeries occur on documents of value: deeds, wills, checks, financial documents and contracts. Signature forgeries range from simple forgery – i.e. the forger signs the name without any idea how the signature looks; skilled forgery – i.e. the forger practices and simulates the signature; tracing – i.e. the forger traces the signature from a…
Wet-ink signatures are generally produced on documents of importance: rental agreements, contracts, financial documents, wills, real estate documents at the time they are signed. Copies are frequently made of these important documents and produced for examination. Being able to distinguish between an original “wet ink” signature and a copied signature involves some expertise. However, there…
Indented writing impressions are created from the pressure of the writing instrument as it’s transferred from the primary paper to the sheets underneath. These impressions may not be visible to the naked eye; however, specialized electrostatic equipment can help a Forensic Document Examiner (FDE) visualize indented impressions. Typical indentation examinations can resolve sequencing issues, determine…
History of Rubber Stamps Charles Goodyear is credited with the idea of vulcanizing rubber for commercial uses. The vulcanization process includes heating rubber with sulphur to expand the flexibility and strength of the rubber product. These products, in turn, came into modern day uses with tires, rubber soles of shoes, and rubber stamps. Modern Day…
Detecting a forged signature Forged signatures are one of the most common types of cases received at the Laboratory. Forgeries occur on all different types of documents from Wills, employment contracts, checks, and all types of financial documents. Any document that relates to something of value is at risk of being altered, manipulated or may…
Natural Signature Questions often arise regarding handwriting and signatures in particular referring to whether the questioned signature is genuine or non-genuine. One of the first things to observe is to determine if the signature is naturally written. A signature that is naturally written will display tapered beginning and ending strokes, a variation in writing pressure…
Mastering attorney/expert relationships are difficult! Attorneys are often faced with finding a suitable expert to provide relevant expertise efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. A document expert is frequently engaged when a suspect document requires determination of authorship or authenticity. Nothing kills the love faster between the attorney/expert relationship until one or more of these…
Examining election ballots for handwriting anomalies is a frequent request. How does a document examiner analyze signatures for fraud or genuineness?
An interesting case study in the May Journal of Forensic Science discusses individuals who feign handedness in crimes (i.e. the assailant is known to be left-handed whereas the defendant claims to be right-handed or vice versa). Usually a physician or forensic psychologists would be asked to test hand preference, but it’s known this can be…
It’s not like the TV shows…but better. Once training is completed and you are working your own cases, it’s like being the CEO of your own forensic agency. It’s a good career for those interested in science, technology, and law enforcement. With management support, you should be provided appropriate supervision, mentoring, on-the-job training and refresher…