Forensic Document Examination and Digital Forensics

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering forensic document examination, famous forgery cases, security features of currency, computer hardware, and digital forensics terms.

Jack the Ripper

A notorious mass murderer who reportedly killed and mutilated at least five prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of London's East End in 1888.

George Lusk

The member of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee who received the "From hell" letter along with half a human kidney.

Catherine Eddowes

A Whitechapel prostitute believed to be the victim whose blood and kidney were associated with a letter sent by Jack the Ripper.

Graphology

A pseudoscience used to determine psychological characteristics of suspects based solely on their handwriting.

Questioned document

Any document whose authenticity is in question, such as a contested will, forged check, or suspicious suicide note.

Questioned Documents Unit

A forensic lab unit that conducts examinations of writing, ink, paper, forgeries, and counterfeits for local, state, and federal agencies.

Digital forensics

A division of forensics involving the scientific examination and analysis of data stored on or retrieved from computer storage media for use as evidence.

Exemplar

A sample of handwriting whose source is known, used for comparison with a questioned document.

Lindbergh baby kidnapping

A famous 1932 case involving a ransom note for the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, which led to the arrest of Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Bruno Richard Hauptmann

A German immigrant with a criminal record who was executed for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr.

Automaticity

The ability to perform tasks without occupying the mind with low-level details, allowing responses to become subconscious habits through repetition.

Best Evidence Rule

A legal rule governing the admissibility of document evidence which generally requires the original document rather than a copy.

Alterations

Modifications made to a document by physical, chemical, or mechanical means, including obliterations, additions, and erasures.

Obliterations

A type of alteration involving the removal of writing by physical or chemical means, such as blacking out or writing over original text.

Additions

Changing a document's context by adding content with similar ink or print, such as changing the amount on a check.

Erasures

The most common technique to modify a document, where material is removed by chemical, abrasive, or other means.

Charred document

Any document that has been darkened and made brittle due to exposure to excessive heat or fire.

Forgery

The making, adapting, or falsifying of documents or objects with the intention of deceiving someone.

Counterfeiting

The production of imitation currency, art, documents, and name-brand look-alike products for the purpose of deception.

Fraud

Forgery specifically performed for material gain.

Literary Forgery

Writing that is deliberately misattributed to a historical/invented author or presented as a genuine memoir.

Frank Abagnale Jr.

A prolific fraudster who scammed banks across 12 countries before working for the FBI for 30 years as an expert in document forgery.

Han van Meegeren

A Dutch painter and talented art forger who swindled buyers out of approximately 30 million dollars by forging the work of great masters.

Paper chromatography

A simple method used to separate the component pigments of a mixture, such as ink found in pens.

Retention factor (Rf) value

A measurement used in chromatography calculated as: $Rf = \frac{\text{Distance from baseline to dye front}}{\text{Distance from baseline to solvent front}}$

Microprinting

The printing of extremely small words, numbers, or pictures on currency that blur if copied and are not obvious to the unaided eye.

EURion

A constellation of yellow 20s printed on the back of US twenty-dollar bills as a security feature.

Motherboard

The main system board of a computer that delivers power, data, and instructions to all other components.

Central processing unit (CPU)

The hardware component that processes and carries out instructions received from software applications.

Hard disk drive (HDD)

The main storage location within a computer where the operating system, applications, and user data are stored.

Random access memory (RAM)

Temporary memory storage on the motherboard used by the CPU to access data for active software applications; data is lost when power is off.

Latent Data

Deleted files or files that cannot be accessed without special forensic equipment.

File hash

A mathematical calculation made from every byte in a file, creating a unique digital fingerprint.

Bit

Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of computer data with a single binary value of 0 or 1.

Byte

A unit of computer information equal to eight bits, capable of encoding one character or letter.

Steganography

The art of hiding or embedding information or messages within images or articles.

Phishing

A technique where a person attempts to extract personal information, such as bank login details, for identity theft via fake websites.

Geotagging

The process of extracting coordinates from the metadata of a photo to determine the location where it was taken.

Cyberbullying

When a minor is tormented, threatened, harassed, or targeted by another minor using internet or digital technologies.

Digital piracy

Downloading, copying, or sharing material protected by copyright, such as music or movies, without authorization.

Digital watermark

A pattern of data inserted into a digital file that identifies the copyright owner and usage rights.

Malware

Malicious software designed to damage a network/computer or steal information, such as viruses and spyware.

Trojan horse

A program that carries a virus to the user's hard drive under the guise of an ordinary installation.

Backdoor

A security hole in a computer system deliberately left by programmers or intruders to circumvent security mechanisms.

Honeypot

A security lure set up to trap hackers as they attempt to gain entry into a computer system.

Anonymous

An international hacktivist group with no central leadership that has conducted cyber attacks against various government and corporate targets.

Kim Dotcom

A German hacker and activist who built the cloud service Megaupload and famously hacked NASA and the Pentagon as a teenager.

WikiLeaks

An internet library of leaked documents, usually related to government corruption, directed by Julian Assange.

Julian Assange

The director of WikiLeaks who published hacked emails from the 2016 Clinton campaign and sought political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Bitcoin

A digital currency whose transactions are recorded on a blockchain, making it popular for hackers as it is difficult to trace to individuals.