Intro to Document Analysis Target 4-1

Target 4-1 I can differentiate forgeries, fraud, and counterfeiting by describing the goals, methods, and investigation of each.

Forgery A forgery is a document that has been altered or created with the intention of deceiving someone Checks Passports Letters Wills Art

Types of Forgeries Erasure Addition Fabrication Removing some or all of the contents of a document Can be mechanical (rubbing out) Can be chemical (bleaching) Addition Adding additional content into an existing document Fabrication Creating an entirely new document Could be brand new or a copy of another document Often, forgers attempt to create historical documents

Fraud A forgery becomes a fraud if it is carried out with the intention of financial gain Check forgeries Wills Art or literature sold as collectors’ items A forgery is not considered fraud if it is carried out for personal gain only Passports Fake IDs Personal correspondence

Counterfeiting Counterfeiting refers to the specific crime of forging currency (money) Can be bills or coins Counterfeiting is usually considered a more serious offense than other forgeries

Anti-Counterfeit Measures Most countries have added features to their currency with the goal of making counterfeiting more difficult. US paper money contains: Linen paper (softer and more difficult to obtain) Security threads (printed threads woven into the paper) Multiple special colored inks, including color-changing inks Microprinting (tiny text embedded into the images) Watermarks (faint text/images that are stained into the paper before printing)

Detecting Forgeries and Counterfeit Target 4-2

Target 4-2 I can perform document analysis by testing inks, papers, and handwriting

Detecting Erasures Mechanical erasures damage the fibers in the paper Can be detected under a microscope Chemical erasures leave residue Can be detected under UV light

Detecting Additions New content will behave differently under UV light Different or newer ink will absorb light differently Ink from different parts of the document can be tested with chromatography tests Handwritten documents will undergo handwriting tests

Detecting Fabrications If a document is suspected of being a fabricated forgery, the first step is to perform chemical tests on the ink and paper Authentic historical documents will contain paper and ink materials of an appropriate age Chromatography tests are used to separate and identify ink components for further testing UV light and special solvents can identify residue from chemicals used to age papers Handwritten documents undergo handwriting tests

Detecting Counterfeit Currency Counterfeit-detecting pens Special ink will react with starch (found in regular paper, but not linen currency paper) Training bank and commercial staff to check for microprinting, watermarks, and color-changing inks Global movement toward polymer (plastic) currency Australia, Canada, and UK began printing polymer currency in 2016 US does not yet plan to transition to polymer currency