Analyzing Documents Flashcards
John, a forensic document examiner, determines that a document that purports to be the original writing of a famous author created fifty years ago is actually made from paper created no more than two years ago. Which of the following best describes the document?
A. An anachronism
B. An indented writing
C. An autoforgery
D. None of the above
A. An anachronism
Anachronisms are items located at a time when they could not have existed or occurred. Generally, exposing anachronisms in fraudulent historical documents requires the expertise of investigators, historical experts, scientific laboratories, and forensic document examiners. For example, accurate handwriting comparisons are rarely possible in the absence of adequate contemporaneous genuine writings of the purported author. In such cases, the experts will examine the materials used to produce the documents, such as paper, ink, printing, adhesives and seals, bindings, and covers.
Often, to add credibility to forged documents, fraudsters will backdate them. To determine whether contemporary documents were backdated, experts usually rely on diligent investigation and forensic document examiners.
The proper method for developing latent fingerprints that have been absorbed into porous materials, such as paper, is to dust them with fingerprint powder. T/F
False
Fraud examiners should never try to develop latent fingerprints that have been absorbed into paper or other porous materials by dusting with fingerprint powder or any other means. Such efforts will not only be unsuccessful, but they will prevent additional examinations. Instead, fraud examiners should preserve the evidence by placing it into a labeled protective container, such as a sealable, acid-free paper envelope. Also, fraud examiners should label the item’s container with their initials, the current date, where the document was taken from, and an identifying exhibit number (if any).
Experts will use various methods to examine fingerprints on porous surfaces, including iodine fuming and brushing or spraying silver nitrate solution or ninhydrin spray, which reacts with the body chemicals and other substances in the latent prints that have soaked into the absorbent surface. Some of these methods will permanently discolor a document.
While examining a document, a fraud examiner notices some very faint indented writings that might aid the examination if revealed. Which of the following would be the fraud examiner’s BEST course of action in analyzing these indented writings?
A. Performing the pencil shading method
B. Performing the pencil scratching method
C. Applying a few drops of liquid and observing the liquid’s flow in the indentations
D. Employing an expert to use an electrostatic detection apparatus
D. Employing an expert to use an electrostatic detection apparatus
Indented writing is the impression a writing instrument leaves on sheets of paper below the piece of paper that contains the original writing. Fraud examiners should be alert for the presence of incriminating indented writings or the absence of logical indentations, both of which can be valuable in proving fraud.
Fraud examiners should never attempt to develop indented writings by shading or scratching on the surface of a sheet of paper with a pencil. Although this method will reveal deep indentations, it will not reveal faint indentations and will prevent experts from analyzing them. Moreover, shading or scratching with a pencil might prevent other types of technical examinations. Likewise, fraud examiners should not apply any sort of liquid to an original document, as doing so can damage the document’s ability to be analyzed.
Some indented writings can be seen by employing an oblique-lighting method. In this method, the fraud examiner will take the document into an area with subdued overhead lighting, place the document on a flat surface, and shine a bright beam of light—from a small-beam flashlight or small high-intensity lamp—across the document at a low oblique angle or parallel to the surface. Because shadows in the indentations will only show at right angles to the beam of light, it will be necessary to move the light around and note the changing shadows as they form the text of the indentations.
Forensic document experts can perform advanced analysis to reveal messages in indented writings. They can use special lighting, photographic techniques, and sensitive instruments such as the electrostatic detection apparatus (ESDA) to detect and permanently record extremely faint indented writings that cannot be seen by the oblique-lighting method.
Keeping track of the amount of paper generated is one of the biggest challenges in fraud cases. Which of the following is generally NOT a recommended practice when organizing evidence?
A. File all papers chronologically.
B. Segregate documents by witness.
C. Establish a database early on.
D. Make a key document file.
A. File all papers chronologically.
Keeping track of the amount of paper generated is one of the biggest problems in fraud cases. Good organization in complex cases includes the following:
• Segregating documents by either witness or transaction
• Making a “key document” file for easy access to the most relevant documents
• Establishing a database early on in the case of a large amount of information
During the evidence gathering stage of an investigation, organizing the documents chronologically is not recommended because it will make searching for relevant information more difficult. It is generally better to organize the documents by transaction or by party. The fraud examination report often follows a chronological timeline to give a narrative of a fraud scheme, in which case displaying key documents chronologically often makes sense. But in the organization phase, there usually is too much clutter for chronological organization to be effective.
Jones, a Certified Fraud Examiner and director of security for ABC Inc., obtained several boxes of documents while conducting a fraud examination. While inventorying the boxes and marking the evidence, Jones discovers a stock certificate he feels will be damaged if he marks it with his initials and the date. In order to maintain the proper chain of custody, Jones should:
A. Mark the document regardless of the potential for damage.
B. Place the document in a marked envelope.
C. Copy the document and initial and date the copy.
D. Photograph and store the document.
B. Place the document in a marked envelope.
To preserve the chain of custody, all evidence received should be marked so that it can later be identified. The most common way to mark the evidence is with the date and initials of the person obtaining the documents. If it is not practical to mark the document, or if marking it would damage the document, then it should be placed in an envelope and the envelope should be marked and sealed. To avoid indented writings, make sure not to write on the envelope after placing the document inside.
The profession of forensic document examination is called graphology. T/F
False Graphology (or graphoanalysis) has been described as a pseudoscience in which its practitioners have the purported ability to determine a person’s character, moral traits (honesty/dishonesty, etc.), personality, and mental state based upon an analysis of that person’s handwriting. Graphology is often erroneously confused with forensic document examinations, especially by the media. Fraud examiners should be aware that some individuals practicing graphological analyses might have little academic and scientific training.
Which of the following is typically the most effective way to document chain of custody for a piece of evidence?
A. Photographs of the evidence that clearly show what the evidence is and where it was originally found
B. A memorandum with the custodian of the evidence when the evidence is received
C. A video recording of the fraud examiner explaining the process used to collect the evidence
D. An affidavit signed by the fraud examiner swearing to the evidence’s contents
B. A memorandum with the custodian of the evidence when the evidence is received
From the moment evidence is received, its chain of custody must be maintained for it to be accepted by the court. The chain of custody is both a process and a document that memorializes who has had possession of an object and what they have done with it. Essentially, the chain of custody is a recordkeeping procedure similar to physical inventory procedures.
In general, to establish the chain of custody, the fraud examiner must make a record when he receives an item or when it leaves his care, custody, or control. This is best handled by a memorandum with the custodian of the records when the evidence is received. The memorandum should state: • What items were received • When they were received • From whom they were received • Where they are maintained
A(n) ___________ is a writing, usually a signature, prepared by carefully copying or tracing a model example of another person’s writings.
A. Anachronism
B. Indented writing
C. Simulated forgery
D. Autoforgery
C. Simulated forgery
A simulated or traced forgery is a writing, usually a signature, prepared by carefully copying or tracing a model example of another person’s writings. Although identifiable as a forgery, a simulated, or traced signature, forgery often does not contain enough of the forger’s normal handwriting characteristics to permit expert identification.
