Forensic Document Analysis

Hitler diary case

Fake diary of his, contained whitener that only was created after Hitler’s death (viscose and polyester), also diary exemplar was from same source as diary itslef

Lindbergh diary case

Handwriting similar to ransom note found in Hauptmann’s home, spelled “did'“ and “our”
wrong (likely due to German nationality)

Frank Abignale

Forged checks, forged Pan Am payroll checks (cashed at different branches and changed branch number), reverted to working for FBI financial crimes unit

Six common aspects of variation

slant of lines, size, crossing “t” and dotting “i”, unique styles, adherence to line, connecting strokes

fradulence is…

forgery done for material gain

two examples of check forgery

altering a check, creating a check from scratch

mechanical erasures

rubbing ink/pencil marks, seen under strong light and iodine fumes, iodine clings to rough surfaces and leaves purple marks

chemical erasures

using solvents or chemical to remove ink, seen under UV light, sodium hypochlorite in Clorox (bleaches ink causing erased writing to appear different)

security features of paper

paper made of cotton, red/blue threads embedded in paper, watermark visible with light, security ribbon woven in paper, serial numbers

UV light

if painting is old, UV light shows fluorescent blue-green

microscope analysis

pigment is seen using microscope

paint composition

created old and cracked looking surface with stippling brush and only cracks on top layer

computer analysis

focus on brush strokes and identifying inconsistencies