NCJ Number
94467
Journal
International Criminal Police Review Issue: 368 Dated: (May 1983) Pages: 138-165
Date Published
1983
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Characteristics of forgeries and counterfeits are examined, and techniques for detection are discussed in this article.
Abstract
Forgeries are defined as any deliberate alteration of a document made with intent to deceive. The term forgery is used when a genuine document has been altered by deletion, addition, or substitution. Deletion is accomplished by erasure, scraping, or bleaching. Included in the different types of additions are transfers, actual addition, and overwriting. The above techniques are used in combination for substitution. Forgery is done to identification and authentication documents, bank documents, gaming tickets, and numerous others. Although there may be no question of fraudulent alteration, the techniques used to detect forgeries can also be used to examine accidentally damaged documents. Counterfeit is defined as any wholesale fraudulent imitation. Counterfeiting is done to produce a copy that passes as the original. The counterfeiter is known to make copies from substitute materials resembling the materials used for the genuine documents to escape detection by the casual observer. The counterfeiter is offered a wider range of possibilities by the latest developments in photocopying and reproduction. The counterfeiter's base of operation is usually chosen in terms of the skills possessed. Numerous examples and a 43-item bibliography are included.