When I look at a questioned document, three things tell me almost immediately that something is wrong.

The first is shakiness. A forger slows down. They’re not writing naturally. They are copying carefully, and that care shows up as tremor. The pen wobbles because the person has no fluidity. It’s not their handwriting.

The second is stops and starts. Look for pen lifts, the places where the ink thickens or gaps slightly because the forger picked up the pen and put it back down. Natural handwriting flows. Forgery hesitates.

The third is patching. When a forger makes a mistake, they go back and touch it up. You can see it if you know what to look for: little corrections, retouching, areas where someone went back over what they’d already written.

These are the three basic ones. There are dozens more. But if you see shakiness, pen lifts, and patching in the same document, you’re looking at a forgery. Get it examined.

Curt Baggett
 The Nation’s #1 Forensic Document Examiner
Over 2,000 cases handled across all 50 states
972-644-0285
972-814-2695
https://expertdocumentexaminer.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three red flags of forgery?

Shakiness, stops and starts (pen lifts), and patching. If you see all three in the same document, you are looking at a forgery and should have it examined.

Why does forged writing look shaky?

A forger slows down. They are not writing naturally; they are copying carefully, and that care shows up as tremor. The pen wobbles because the writing is not their own.

What are pen lifts in a forged document?

Pen lifts are the places where the ink thickens or gaps slightly because the forger picked up the pen and put it back down. Natural handwriting flows; forgery hesitates.

What is patching in a forgery?

Patching is when a forger goes back and touches up a mistake. It appears as little corrections, retouching, and areas where someone went back over what they had already written.