forensics

Document expert

a person who has been trained and certified in analyzing writing samples.

Questioned Document

any signature, hand or type writing, or other written marks that may be in dispute or uncertain (ex: ransom note)

Standard/Exemplar

the document taken from the suspect's home that the questioned document is compared to (ex: letters, diary entries)

Document Analysis

examination & comparison of questioned documents w/ known materials

Forgery

to intentionally deceive by making, altering, or falsifying a signature or other aspect of a document

Fraudulence

when material gain accompanies forgery

Counterfeiting

is when documents or other items are copied for the purpose of deception

What type of evidence is handwriting?

Individual evidence

Can two people have the same handwriting? Why or why not?

No! Natural Variations can be caused by: the way you hold your pencil, the pressure you apply to the paper, your motor skills, writing instrument, mood, age, how hurried we are, etc.

Describe the difference between forgery and fraudulence. Use examples to justify your response.

Forgery is to intentionally deceive by making, altering, or falsifying a signature or other aspect of a document. Fraudulence is forgery that is done for material gain. An example of forgery is falsifying your parent's signature on a permission slip, while an example of fraudulence is falsifying the money amount and signature on a check and cashing it into your own account.

Who has more variations in their handwriting? Children or adults?

Adults. Children have to consciously think about the letters they are writing while adults do this by habit and therefore can write faster. This results in more variations due to less care/concern taken in their writing.

Describe why variations exist among the same person's handwriting day-to-day or over the years.

Your mood, how much in a rush you are, the writing instrument you are using, and how much pressure you apply to the paper can change your handwriting day-to-day. Also, as you age, your handwriting changes.

What security features do the U.S. Treasury use today that makes it very difficult to photocopy money? Which feature provides the most security?

Paper (most secure feature), special borders, ink, symbol behind the president's head, blue stripe in 100-dollar bill

Provide 3 examples of counterfeiting.

Copying money, copying checks, copying a will (all examples must be copying something for financial gain)

Describe how iodine pens are used to determine if a dollar bill is counterfeit. Is there any time where these can fail? How?

The iodine in the pen reacts with the special ink used to print U.S. currency. The color will change if the bill is counterfeit. These can fail if the counterfeiter bleached the paper.

Why is it so difficult now for people to copy money to make counterfeit bills?

Most modern printers cannot copy money. Also, you need special paper that is very hard to obtain as it is specially made to print paper.

Describe the three main categories of handwriting characteristics.

Letter form, line form, formatting

Describe the three main steps of handwriting analysis.

1.)Questioned document & standards (exemplars) are examined and detectable characteristics recorded 2.) The characteristics of the questioned item are compared 3.) Experts draw conclusions about the authorship & authenticity of the questioned document

Describe steps that banks have taken to prevent check forgery today.

(1) Print checks on chemically sensitive paper (2) Use a large font size that requires more ink and makes alterations more difficult (3) Use high-resolution borders on the checks that are difficult to copy (4) Embed fibers in checks that glow under different types of lights (5) Use chemical-wash detection systems that change color when a check is altered

Describe the various crimes committed by Frank Abagnale, Jr.

Impersonated a substitute teacher, pilot, doctor, and lawyer. Committed fraud through counterfeiting millions of dollars in checks

Would Frank Abagnale, Jr. be able to get away with these crimes today? Why or why not?

No! We have security features today (that he helped invent) that prevent people from counterfeitting checks in the manners that he did. Some examples of these security features are chemically sensitive paper, high-resolution borders, embedded fibers in checks, and chemical-wash detection systems.