Forgery and Altered Documents

Pasco Women Forged Documents of Man in Coma

Forged Document Ring Busted

People's Court- Altered Loan Document

A Few Cases Involving Forgery/Altered Documents

• If a document or piece of paper is found at a crime scene, what should the crime scene investigator or first responder do?

• What are some other things that the investigator should look for? Why?

• What are some examples of documents that might be altered or forged?

What do you think?

• Why is the finding/detection of forgeries important?

• What are some things you think a forensic scientist might look for when studying these documents to detect any alterations or forgeries?

What do you think?

• Forgery: the crime of falsely making or altering a writing which affects the legal rights or responsibilities of another person; includes the signing of another person’s name

Vocabulary

B. Method 1: Handwriting Analysis

1. By using characteristics of a known handwriting sample, document examiners can often detect forgeries

2. Handwriting analysis also allows forensic scientists to make matches between a document and the author

Methods for Detecting Forgeries

f. Unusual letter formation

g. Shading or pen pressure

h. Slant

i. Baseline habits

j. Flourishes or embellishments

k. Diacritic placement

a. Line quality

b. Word and letter spacing

c. Letter comparison

d. Pen lifts

e. Connecting, beginning and ending strokes

Method 1: Handwriting Analysis3. The following characteristics are often used in conducting handwriting analysis (review of previous material):

• The Zodiac Killer was never caught, but Ray Allen was the prime suspect. Do the samples match?

Handwriting Analysis Example

• Jon Benet was a child beauty pageant star. The-six-year-old’s body was found in the basement of her family home nearly 8 hours after she was reported missing. A ransom note was found on the kitchen staircase. Her family’s involvement in the murder is still unknown. The case was re-opened in 2010 as no one has yet been convicted and there is new technology in DNA, etc. now available.

JonBenet Ramsey

B. Method 2: Typed Document Analysis

1. Some criminals use computers or typewriters in an attempt to avoid being caught through handwriting analysis

2. Fortunately, connections can still be made between a suspect and a document

3. Steps for analyzing typed documents:

a. Identify and examine quirks (ex. Off-set or crooked letters), impressions on the paper, font style, font size and spacing

b. Test ink using chemicals and different light sources to determine the composition and possibly the brand of the ink

c. Test paper for composition and possible fingerprints

Method 2: Typed Document Analysis

Example of Altered Typed Documents

1. Chromatography: a technique used for the separation of mixtures from a solution

Ex. Separating ink into individual color components

C. Method 3: Chromatography

2. Chromatography can be used on pen ink, typewriter ink and computer ink

3. Chromatography can identify the composition and source (brand, factory) of the ink

4. By knowing the composition and the source, scientists can then determine the age of the ink and if the ink is the same throughout the document

Examples

• Handwriting Analysis:

1. Using the forged check and the lab paper provided, analyze the signature to identify the author of the forged check. Use the packet to help you!

• FINISHED EARLY? See me for handwriting samples to try to find your suspect!

TODAY’S TASK