Alteration & Erasure Exam

Examination of Alterations and Erased Writing

Document fraud does not always involve a complete forgery. Often, a genuine document is manipulated after the fact to change its meaning or value. A zero added to a financial figure, a name chemically erased from a will, or a crucial clause obliterated with a marker can completely change the legal standing of an agreement.

Our forensic lab utilizes state-of-the-art non-destructive technologies to see beyond what is visible to the naked eye, revealing hidden truths and unauthorized changes.

Detecting Alterations and Additions

When text is added to a document at a later time, the fraudster rarely uses the exact same pen. By using a Video Spectral Comparator (VSC), our experts expose the document to various wavelengths of light, including Infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet (UV). Different inks react differently to these light sources—some absorb IR light, while others luminesce (glow)—immediately exposing unauthorized additions.

Recovering Erased or Obliterated Writing

• Chemical Erasures: When bleach or solvents are used to dissolve ink, the paper fibers are disturbed, and chemical residues remain. UV light can often reveal the ghosted outline of the original text.
• Physical Erasures: Scraping or rubbing text away damages the paper’s physical structure. Microscopic grazing light allows us to see these physical disturbances and read indented writing.
• Obliterations: If text is blacked out with a marker, we use infrared transmission to “look through” the top layer of ink and read the original text hidden beneath.