Doubtful security of wet signatures – mind the risks and alternatives

Even considering all the safety measures, banks  annually lose about $900 million due to fake wet signatures on checks. 

Wet signatures used to be the basic way to define someone’s identity. However, they always leave room for forgery. Skilled hands, a bit of practice, and criminal intentions make it possible to copy someone’s signature perfectly. Can you imagine how astonished you would be to discover your signatures on either checks or contracts you never actually signed? 

Choosing a smart and secure e-signature solution is the best thing you can do to protect yourself from forgery. 

Have you already heard about the latest British signature fraud scandal? The banks, together with some legal firms, were blamed in faking the signatures of the customers to boost the slow legal processes. Wet signature turned out to be a perfect medium of manipulation in this case. The opportunities of a skilled forger are limitless.

Fake signature detection

The criminals who fake a signature often forget about a simple fact – even the original signatures of the same person are never perfectly similar. Trembling hands, signing conditions, mood, weather, and state of health make each signature look differently.

Unskilled forgers make a lot of mistakes trying to make a perfect copy of a single signature using tracing paper. The professionals act differently – they gather several samples of the signature they need to fake and train a lot to make their version look natural in all aspects. There is also the basic variant of fake signature – a random one that is not even similar to the original, but it works only in some exclusive cases. 

Legal issues that take place due to fake signatures are rather common, and detection of a forged one is always a challenge.

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There are several common ways to determine if something is wrong with a signature:

• The pen was placed on the paper and a pause took place immediately after it. Even a moment of doubt and uncertainty can be detected during the expertise. It is also related to the stops and hesitations during a process of signing.
• In case of hesitations, a pen moves slower, and a line of signatures become thicker. This aspect is also considered, as it can point on a lack of confidence while signing. 
• Shaking hands is the most complicated aspect of detecting fake signature, as for elder people or for ones with health issues it can become a common feature of their own signature.

The expertise needed to define a fake signature are often time-consuming and complicated. Probably, the time has come to choose e-signature and enjoy its safety features?

Perks of using e-signature

• Choose the way of signing document that fits you best. Draw, type, and even upload a photo of your signature. 
• Ask your recipient to upload their ID to verify who signs your important documents.
• Protect the documents by password and share it only with the required signer. Choose any form of authentication that fits you best, like SMS or phone verification.
• Have a full history and audit trail of modifications in a document with IP addresses, emails, and personal data of the signers. 
• Limit the access to your documents from everyone except your signers. Store and share documents only in the secure SignNow environment.

E-signatures has already become fully legal and they are starting to be used in all spheres of human activity and they are much more secure compared to the wouldn’t signatures. Better watch good criminal dramas and stay away from them in real life – choose the safest way to sign and collect signatures.