Signature Examination

Forensic Signature Examination and Verification

A signature is the ultimate seal of approval on legal and financial documents. Because of this power, signatures are the most frequently forged items in white-collar crime, property disputes, and corporate fraud. Uncovering a forgery requires more than just looking at the shape of the letters; it requires microscopic forensic analysis.

Our laboratory specializes in authenticating genuine signatures and identifying skillfully executed forgeries.

Types of Forgeries We Detect

Forgeries generally fall into several categories, each requiring a different forensic approach:

• Simulated (Freehand) Forgery: The forger practices the victim’s signature and attempts to draw it freehand. Our experts look for unnatural pen lifts, hesitations, and a lack of fluidity caused by the “drawing” process.
• Traced Forgery: The forger uses carbon paper, transmitted light (a light box), or physical pressure to trace a genuine signature onto a new document. We use high-powered microscopy to detect carbon remnants, indentations, and unnaturally uniform stroke width.
• Cut-and-Paste Forgery: Using photocopiers or digital software to lift a genuine signature and place it on a fraudulent document.

Microscopic Evaluation

By comparing the questioned signature to a pool of known, authentic signatures, our examiners evaluate line quality, writing movement, letter formation, proportions, spacing, alignment, connecting strokes, and pen lifts. We apply a systematic examination of these characteristics to render a court-admissible scientific opinion, always based on the quality and sufficiency of the available material.