With such a large amount of documents flowing into and out of banks as well as insurance companies, adequate checks are maintained and structures put in place
to identify loopholes and prevent weaknesses in the system.

In banking, fraud originates from inside and outside. Bank managers and supervisors
are trained to guard against individuals who come to the bank with the possibility of presenting altered or forged documents in addition to embezzlement by bank employees.

Areas which a handwriting expert can assist banks in preventing fraud include:

•  Authenticity of cheques

For the insurance industry, fraud can be perpetrated by the insured customer,
insurance agents or company officials. Documents that pass through the company
for processing include applications and claims for various types of insurance policies. Insurance fraud is not only confined to policyholders who stage an injury in order
to claim huge compensation packages from the insurance company, but also from agents who want to cover
up mistakes they have made in the original policy or to deny claims by the insured.

Areas which a handwriting expert can assist insurance companies in preventing
fraud include:

•  Examination of handwritten, typewritten, signed or initialed entries on policy
papers to check for alteration or additions

•  Examination of receipts and supporting documents to be reimbursed to insured persons to ascertain authenticity

•  Substantiating if the signature or handwriting on documents is authentic

Can you tell which one of the signatures is a forgery?

Specimen A is an original. The other signatures are forged, can you tell which one is imitated and which one is
traced ?

     Specimen B is an imitation. Sample C is a retraced.
     The size and the width of the word and the distance of the underlining stroke,
     reveals that B could not have been a retrace. C does not appear to be natural
     and too much of a copy of A. Using a hand held magnifier you will see the blunt
     initial and final stroke in specimen C caused by the more labored efforts of the
     unaccustomed writer in contrast to the flowing script in specimen A.