Forgery

The false item can be a signature on a cheque, a fake identity document, an altered contract, a counterfeit certificate or an edited bank statement. The law usually treats the act of making or changing the document as the offence, and using a forged document knowingly as a further one. Forgery is often a tool within a larger fraud: a forged payslip supports a loan application, and a forged board resolution opens a company account. Digital forgery now includes edited PDFs, cloned e-signatures and manipulated images. Banks and other firms check originals, compare signatures, verify documents with the issuer and use document-authentication software. A single undetected forged payslip or board resolution can corrupt a customer file and the credit or onboarding decisions built on it.

A loan applicant submits salary slips showing a monthly income twice his real pay. The bank's analyst notices that the font on the slips differs from the employer's usual format and that the tax figures do not add up. A call to the employer's payroll department confirms the slips are not genuine, and the application is declined and referred to the fraud team.