Experts tell us to look for five specific signs of forgery.
The overall look-There is "something" about the look of it that is different. You may not be able to say exactly what it is, but it is the first indication that there is something "different" about this signature.
The length-Given the same amount of space to use, the length of your signature is about the only true constant. You may think you sign your name differently each time you sign it, but chances are if you lay a ruler on it, you will discover that it is exactly the same length each time. As a matter of fact, if you measure something you signed five or ten years ago, you may note that your style of writing has changed, but the length has not.
Pen lifts-When a forger is copying a signature, their eye moves from the original to the forgery, back and forth. Each time their eye moves, their pen may leave the paper, and then go back on. This leaves tiny spaces between letters or between parts of letters that do not normally appear in the authentic signature. The stroke immediately following the replacement of the pen on the paper is heavier.
Ink blots-are most noticeable when a ball point pen is used. In this case, when the forger's eye moves from the forgery to the original, the pen stays on the paper, but stops, then starts up again to do the next part of the letter. Each "stop" leaves a tiny dot of ball point ink, like a series of periods along the lines of the letters. The stroke following the "stop" is again heavier than the part of the line preceding the dot.
Criminal tremor-which is different from old-age tremor, and yet is similar. Old age tremor occurs because an elderly person may hold the writing instrument in their hand very loosely. Any tremor of their arm or hand, therefore, is transmitted to and through the writing instrument. Old-age tremor is consistent in that it appears in all writing done by the elderly person. In the case of forgery, the concentration of the forger results in a tight grip on the pen or pencil-so tight that it causes a tremor to appear in the writing. This is most apparent in the use of a felt tip pen.
