Verification and signs of document forgery
Documents are an integral part of our lives, but forgery can lead to serious problems. Find out what details to look for to detect a forgery.
Imagine: you buy an apartment, and the contract turns out to be fake. Or you hire an employee with a fake diploma. Or you present a passport with a fake visa at customs. The consequences? From losing money to criminal liability. Fake documents are not just pieces of paper with errors. They are a weapon of fraudsters, and there is only one way to fight them — vigilance.
How to check documents for authenticity
The study of a document must begin with establishing its purpose, the authenticity of the document form and its main text, as well as other details on it — notes, signatures, photographs, seals, stamps, etc. In this case, the correspondence of the content to the intended purpose of the document is established.
If there are doubts about the authenticity of a document, then you should familiarize yourself with a sample of a similar genuine document, examine the condition of the cover, and clarify the number of sheets. It is also necessary to pay attention to whether the forms of the form, seal impressions, photographs, and protective mesh correspond to similar details in the genuine document.
Document form
The document form is examined to determine the method of its production (printing, duplicating equipment). For example, identity documents are produced using certain printing methods and in certain printing houses. To establish the conformity of the document form production method to the accepted production methods, it is necessary to determine the printing method that was used (high, flat, deep, special).
The most characteristic feature of letterpress printing is the presence of relief on the back of the form. Another feature is the thickening of the paint layer in the form of a kind of edging (border) along the edges of the imprints of letters, numbers, lines.
Flat printing is characterized by the absence of these features. The images are less contrasting and clear than on relief prints. Features of flat printing are typical for forms made by rotaprint, glassography, hectography and electrography.
Rotary printing prints are characterized by thickening of connecting strokes in text characters and knots at the intersections of strokes.
Prints made using the electrographic method are additionally characterized by:
• shine of strokes under oblique lighting;
• uneven coloring;
• bumpiness of strokes in the darkest areas of the image.
The following features are characteristic of prints made using photocopiers:
• the strokes are formed by dots, which are sintered particles of powder that have a spherical shape;
• the shine of the dye strokes in obliquely falling light;
• the shedding of the dye at the folds — white stripes appear.
When receiving prints on dot matrix printers, the following are characteristic:
• a clearly visible dot structure of text characters;
• there is also a slight indentation of each dot into the paper, but this indentation is not visible on the reverse side of the sheet.
When using laser printers to print scanned images of the original, the following features are typical:
• continuous, unlike matrix, sign structure, uneven stroke width;
• rounding of corners at line intersections;
• presence of a linear raster and saw-toothed stroke edge;
• dye shedding at paper folds.
When using drop-jet printers, images of letters, signs, and strokes are formed by randomly located tiny dots of purple, blue, yellow, and sometimes black dyes.
Deep printing is characterized by:
• blurry edges of sign strokes;
• uneven thickness of the dye layer in different elements of the print.
Drawing of forms is rare, individual parts of the form can be done this way, for example, the emblem of the institution, corner stamp, seal imprint. When using this method, traces of pencil preparation, signs of erasure, finishing, uneven thickness of strokes, non-standard drawing of signs can be visible.
If carbon paper was used to transfer the form and text of the form for subsequent use of the copy, then signs of subsequent tracing of strokes and characters may be observed.
How to check a document without special equipment?
- Hold it up to the light — look for watermarks, security threads (in passports, banknotes).
- Under a magnifying glass — check micro fonts, even lines, print clarity.
- By touch – relief of seals, embossing, paper quality (real forms are often thicker).
- Under ultraviolet light (if there is a lamp) — hidden security elements should glow.
Fake documents are becoming more sophisticated, but careful examination and knowledge of key signs of falsification will help you avoid being deceived. Check forms, seals, fonts and security elements — any discrepancy should raise alarm. And if in doubt, it is better to contact experts: sometimes one mistake in a document can cost you money, reputation or even freedom.