Signature Examination
Michael John Allen · 2015
Signatures can come in a variety of forms ranging from simple to complex, from legible to stylized and from full name to very shortened. Signatures are the primary target of simulation (copying by forgery). When considering how to interpret findings, the handwriting expert will have several alternatives to consider including the possibility that it is a genuine signature, a simulated copy of a genuine signature or a non-simulated version. The expertise of forensic examiners is probably most tested by signature examinations due to the small amounts of writing involved and the willingness of fraudsters to try to perfect a simulation for whatever gain they have in mind. With the scanning and printing capabilities of modern technology, a signature that makes no attempt to be original but is shown by a copy document may well be a genuine signature that has been copied from elsewhere and added to a bogus document.