While a woman was abroad, fraudsters forged her signature and sold her apartment: Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise experts about cases from the practice of handwriting examinations

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the elderly Kyiv resident went abroad. When her children came to her apartment, they found strangers with all the documents for the apartment. Experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise helped to identify the fraudsters who sold the apartment to the people, who told UNN about the peculiarities of handwriting research.

According to the experts, even during the war, this area remains relevant, because since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 4,500 handwriting studies have been submitted to the experts of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise. In the vast majority of cases, the experts are presented with identification tasks, i.e., the question of whether a particular person actually made a handwritten text, record or signature. Very often, these issues are related to financial transactions, purchase and sale of movable and immovable property, etc.

"There was a case when an elderly person who lived in Kyiv went abroad since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. When, after some time, the children of this citizen came to the apartment to check if everything was in order, it turned out that there were already strangers there with all the documents for the apartment in their hands. Of course, people were shocked, they could not understand how this happened. Later, they had guesses as to which of their acquaintances had temporary access to the documents and could make copies, forge identification documents, impersonate the owner of the apartment and successfully sell it, having everything certified by a notary. It was a rather complicated and confusing situation. Our task as handwriting experts in this situation was to answer the question of whether the signature in the documents really belonged to the real owner of the apartment. The purchase and sale agreement, signature samples, and all other necessary supporting documents were provided for examination. As a result, the apartment was returned to its rightful owners, and the fraudsters were brought to justice," the experts say.

According to them, there are also opposite cases when people sell their property, take money, and then try to refute everything and frame the buyers.

The specialists of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise remind that each person's handwriting has unique characteristics. The size of letters, slope, pressure and speed of writing may reflect certain aspects of the personality, and the examination process uses the most detailed characteristics and signs. Even if a person tries to copy another person's handwriting or deliberately change his or her own, and it looks true to ordinary citizens, experts can easily detect fakes and can also indicate under what distracting factors texts, receipts, notes, signatures in documents, etc. were written. Samples of signatures are of great importance in conducting the investigation; their sufficiency, quality and authenticity are important.

Experts note that often, along with handwriting examinations, related examinations are also ordered.

"A lot of loan receipts are examined, as well as documents related to land lease agreements and all derivative aspects. It happens that a person leased land for 5 years, and this term is indicated on one page of the contract, and the signature is on the other. The first page is changed and the term is adjusted from 5 to 50 years, and the second page with the original signature remains. In such a case, in addition to handwriting analysis, it is necessary to conduct a technical examination of documents, during which experts determine whether all the sheets were made at the same or different times and on the same or different printing devices," says KFI.

At the same time, they add that almost 90% of all handwriting studies are actually signatures on documents.

"People are now using handwritten texts less. Documents are created using computer technology, so only the signature remains as a requisite. Our little advice for everyone is to think about the elements of signature complication, because if it is simple, it is easier to forge it," the experts conclude.