Chapter 18: Questioned Documents

ways criminals can alter or acquire checks

1) ordering someone else's checks from a deposit slip 2) directly altering a check 3) intercepting someone's check, altering it, and cashing it 4) creating forged checks from scratch

2 phases of handwriting analysis

1) the hardware, ink, paper, pens, pencils, typewriter, printers 2) visual examination of the writing

Who is on the $5 bill?

Abraham Lincoln

Connecting letters

Compare how capital letters are joined to lowercase letters

What type of situation is common for the passing of fraudulent checks and counterfeit money?

Gatherings of large people

Fancy Curls or loops

Look for different letter formations (e.g. letters with tails). Any distinguishing features?

Checks Certificates Wills Passports Licenses Money Letters Contracts Suicide Notes Receipts Even Lottery Tickets

what are some commonly questioned documents?

conscious writing effort

when someone disguises their own handwriting

Obliteration

writing over top to smear or make original writing unreadable

investigators analyze and compare various traits

-appearance of letters of suspicious documents with with known samples to help identify author of document

Shortcomings in Analysis of handwriting

-are the base documents real or fake? -did mood, age, or fatigue impact the writing? -did exerts miss any details?

Document alterations can be detected by

-microscope examination -UV or infrared (IR) light -digital image processing

indentations can be detected by

-oblique lighting -ESDA(Electrostatic Detection Apparatus)

paper differences

-raw material -weight -density -thickness -color -water marks -age -flourescence

best literary forgers try to duplicate original document

-use water marks to make paper appear older -mix inks to make it look like the one used in paper -use chemicals to age

document experts tackle conscious writing efforts in 3 steps

1) a suspect should not be shown questioned document 2) a suspect should not be given instructions about punctuation or spelling 3) pen and paper should be similar to questioned document

12 characteristics of handwriting

1) line quality (flow/ shaky and erratic) 2) Spacing 3) Size consistency (small letters to capital letters/ ratio of height to width) 4) Continuous (pen lifts or naw) 5) Connecting letters (capital to short connection) 6) Letters complete 7) Cursive and printed letters 8) Pen pressure 9) Slant 10) Line habits 11) Fancy curls/loops 12) Placement of crosses on t's and dots on i's

3 steps to analyzing handwriting sample

1) obtain writing sample from questioned author (don't tell them it will be compared) and record characteristics 2) compare to ransom 3) decide with characteristics are valuable for drawing a conclusion

safety measures found on currency

1) portrait stands out form the background and appears raised off the paper 2) there is a minute microprinting on the security threads, as well as around the portrait 3) serial number is evenly spaced and the same color as the Treasury seal 4) check letter and quadrant number 5/6) federal reserve seal, no sharp points, and treasury seal, with clear, sharp sawtooth points 7) clear red and blue fibers are woven throughout the bill. Security thread is evident, consisting of a thin, embedded vertical line or strip with the denomination of the bill written in it 8) federal reserve number and letter 9) series 10) check letter and face plate number 11) watermark appears on the right side of the portrait of the bill in the light 12) when a new series bill is tilted, the number in the lower right-hand corner makes a color shift from copper to green resulting from color-shifting ink 13) clear, distinct background details and lines 14) clear, distinct border edge

What is FISH?

A database that enables document examiners to scan and digitize text writings such as threatening correspondence

What is forgery?

A process used by criminals to make, alter, or falsify a person's signature or a document with the intent to deceive another person

Who is the "Father of the Science of Questioned Document Examination in North America"?

Albert Sherman Osborn

Who is on the $10?

Alexander Hamilton

What is ABFDE?

American Board of Forensic Document Examiners

What is ASQDE?

American Society of Questioned Document Examiners

Who is on the $20

Andrew Jackson

Questioned documents

Any signature, handwriting, typewriting, or other written mark whose source or authenticity is in dispute of uncertain

Lindbergh case

Bruno Richard Hauptman was convicted of stealing the Lindbergh baby based on handwriting being connected to the ransom notes -questioned to this day because of the manner in which the notes were taken

Name the baby who was kidnapped from his nursery in 1932. How many ransom notes were used?

Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr.

Pen Pressure

Check for pressure on the downward and upward strokes.

What technique is used to separate individual dye components

Chromatography

Define the two types of exemplars

Collected writing specimens: Writings completed by the subject prior to investigation. Requested writing specimens: writings dictated by the investigator to the writer.

Line Quality

Do the letters flow or are they erratic and shaky?

What is the job of a document expert and a judge or jury in a forgery case?

Document expert will determine whether the document is forged. Judge or jury will determine if the writer's intent was to defraud

Line Habits

Does the writing tend to follow a straight line, move downward, or move upward? Is it above or below the line?

Slant

Does the writing tilt to the left or right, or is it straight up and down? Are some letters consistently tilted more or less than others?

What machine is used to reveal text from indented impressions

Electrostatic Detection Device

Name the four ways to alter a document

Erasures, Obliterations, Alterations, Overwriting

Spacing

Examine the average amount of area between words and letter formation. Are the letters and margins the same/similar?

any changes, erasures, or obliterations that may have occurred

Experts establish the authenticity of documents and detect what?

Name 7 federal agencies with QD units.

Federal Bureau of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Secret Service, US Army Crime Lab, Internal Revenue Service, US Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

Who is on the $1 bill?

George Washington

Pen and ink manufacturers are asked to submit their new ink formulations to what database?

International Ink LIbrary

How can you test that money is printed on the correct type of paper? How have criminals faked this?

Iodine pen that turns bluish-black when in contact with the starch in counterfeit paper. Criminals bleach $1 bills and print higher values on them

Name the 6-year-old beauty queen said to be kidnapped but really killed in her own home

JonBenet Ramsey

Initial questioned document analysis uses what tools?

Naked(ooh) eye, handheld lens, illuminated magnifier, or microscope

List the three main principles used in handwriting examination and comparison

No two skilled writers exhibit identical handwriting features. Every person has a range of natural variation to their writing. No writer can exceed their skill level.

What is the punishment for counterfeit US currency

Punishable with up to 15 years in prison

What makes a fraud literary document look more convincing and real?

Quality literary forgeries aim to duplicate the materials found in the original. Ex. Aged paper, chemical treatment, inks from materials at that time, Watermarks, styles, tools that were popular at the time

How is paper currency different from normal paper

Regular paper contains starch, Paper currency contains rag fiber instead

Document expert

Specially trained person who scientifically analyzes handwriting and other features in a document.

Name some security features added to currency to prevent counterfeit

Subtle background colors, small nylon threads, and plastic security strips have been added

What makes it so easy to find and buy autographed sports memorabilia but also increases your chances of fraud?

The Internet and online auction

What is Document Analysis

The examination and comparison of questioned documents with known material.

What is graphology?

The pseudo-science involved in producing a personality profile of the writer by examining the characteristics, traits and strokes of an individual's handwriting

Who maintains the FISH database?

U.S. Secret Service Forensic Laboratroy

In 1999...

US court of appeals stated handwriting is accepted in court as evidence

What machine is used to detect alterations, obliterations, erasures, and page substitutions

Video Spectral Comparator

Ratio

What are the overall height, width, and size of the letters?

What is fraudulence?

When a material gain accompanies a forgery

Forensic Information System for Handwriting (FISH)

a computerized handwriting database used and maintained by the Secret Service -advantage= more objective and faster than individual -no two writers pen their words exactly the same, nor do they have the same combination of handwriting characteristics

ink chromotography

a method of physically separating the components of ink

document expert

a person who scientifically analyzes hand-writing

exemplar

a standard document of known origin and authorship used in handwriting analysis -best are letters, diaries, greeting cards, or personal notes

questioned document

any signature, handwriting, or other written mark whose source or authenticity is in dispute or uncertain

Differences we notice in handwriting

based on mood, age, whether we are in a rush, use of different writing instruments

adults have slight variation in handwriting

children are still learning and will get in the habit of their unique handwriting style when they grow older -it becomes subconscious --> the brain is writing!

Computerized analysis

compares handwriting samples objectively -compares with samples stored in databases

biometric signature pads

computerized pad recognizes your signature based on the speed, pressure, and rhythm of signing your name

handwriting evidence in the court room

experts asked questions about analyses -questioned how document comparisons were made and how they were used to indicate the suspect's guilt/ innocence -shows examples of similarities/ differences that led to conclusion -defense will likely hire their own expert to contradict this one (must be able to back up your evidence)

Mark Hofmann

forged documents, coins, bank notes, 116 pages of "lost Mormon" book -used bomb to buy time to forge another collection of Mormon documents and ended up killing people -arrested for murder

literary forgery

forgery of a piece of writing, such as an historic letter or manuscript

Martin Coneely 1937

fraudulent forger -sold forged abraham lincoln writing -ironically, being sold as collector's items today

handwriting analysis is a good tool because...

handwriting is hard to forge and it's easier to eliminate

infrared spectroscope

help in detecting forgery in handwriting

US Secret Service

in charge of investigating counterfeit US currency

detecting counterfeit currency

inexpensive counterfeit pens made with iodine -counterfeit bill--> paper will turn bluish-black (color change is iodine reacting with starch which is found in regular paper) real money--> pen will leave a pale yellow color which fades pen is 98% effective

paper chromotagraphy

is an analytical method that is used to separate coloured chemicals or substances.This

stimulated forgery

one made by copying a genuine (real) signature

traced forgery

one made by tracing a genuine signature

blind forgery

one made without a model of the signature

preventing check forgery

people need to be willing to check for security issues on checks -banks actually want to eliminate checks all together and use debit/credit check cards

limitations to handwriting analysis

quality of standards obtained depends on quality of comparison analysis -person writing the document could be affected by mood, age, illness, fatigue, drug use, etc

paper currency is made out of

rag fiber

letter form

shape, curve, or angle/ slant of letters, proportional size of letters, use and appearance of connecting lines between letters--> also if i's and t's are crossed/ dotted

line form

smoothness of letters, darkness of lines, upward/downward stroke -influenced by speed of writing and pressure and choice of writing instrument

formatting

spacing between letters, spacing between words and lines, placement of words on a line, margins

document analysis

the examination and comparison of questioned documents with known material

document analysis

the examination of questioned documents with known material for a variety of analyses, such as authenticity, alterations, erasures, and obliterations

counterfeiting

the production of an imitation of currency, works of art, documents, and name-brand look-alikes for the purpose of deception -traveler's checks, bonds, and currency