Alteration is defined as any change to a document which gives it a different effect from that it originally possessed. If change is made after execution of a document and without the consent of the other party or concerned person, then such change is called fraudulent alteration. Document examiners must be able to identify documents that were altered to change the conditions of a contract or other legal entity. Alterations can take the form of erasures and replacement and/or insertion of material into a document.

1. ALTERATION IN DOCUMENTS

2. ALTERATION
 Document examiners must be able to identify documents that were altered to change the conditions of a contract or other
legal entity.
 Alterations can take the form of erasures and replacement and/or insertion of material into a document.
 Handwriting, typewriting, and other marks on paper can be removed by abrasion or chemical eradication or covered with an
opaque substance. Document examiners need to be able to decipher the material that has been altered or erased.
 On numerous occasions documents are altered during their preparation or after their completion with full knowledge of all
parties concerned and without an attempt on the part of anyone to perpetrate fraud.
 An addition or other alteration is made with intent to cheat some party in an otherwise fair and legitimate transaction. When
such an act has been committed, or is suspected, a document examiner may be consulted.
 Documents are changed in several ways, and each method requires a separate technique for detection and for the
restoration or decipherment of the original material.
 The most common procedures include the removal of portions by erasure, obscuring the writing by opaque marks, and the
addition of material either by interlineation or by extending portions of the document.

3. CONTI…………
 Alteration is defined as any change to a document which gives it a different effect from that it originally
possessed. If change is made after execution of a document and without the consent of the other party or
concerned person, then such change is called fraudulent alteration.
 Examples of documents frequently altered by adding materials are checks (raising the amount) and wills
(adding conditions, terms, and beneficiaries).
 In the case of wills, care should be taken to ascertain that the date has not been altered, since in most
countries the latest dated will is the one legally binding.
 There are also page additions to assembled documents. This can be something as “simple” as removing a
staple, inserting or changing a page, then reassembling the document.
 In this case the staple should be inspected for signs of bending or manual closure, or in the case of a new
staple conformity to other staples used by the source. The staple holes should also be examined for
irregularities, unexplained tears and extra holes. There have been “ballistics type” examinations of toolmarks
left by staplers on the staples.

4.  Features of fraudulent alteration:
 These alterations are done in such a way that they may pass unnoticed under regular examination of the
document.
 The alteration methods are usually latent or may be so minute that an unskilled or incompetent
examiner may not be able to detect them.

5. TYPES OF ALTERATION
 Erasure
 Obliteration
 Addition /Interlineations
 Insertion
 Deletion

6. ERASURE
 It is common knowledge that writing, typewriting, or printing may be removed by either chemicals,
abrasion, or scratching with a sharp instrument like a knife. Not all of these methods are successful in
removing each class of marking medium, but all are encountered in a variety of problems.
 Erasures are made by three methods:
 The mechanical removal of the ink by scraping the surface until all the visible ink has been removed
 The treatment by bleaching solutions that convert the dye into colorless compounds
 Removal of the soluble dyestuffs by suitable solvents.
 Erasures by means of abrasion or scratching generally leave much more definite traces consisting of
disturbed paper fibers and portions of the original strokes that were not completely removed. These
erasures are consequently more easily detected.

7.  An erasure can be either mechanical or chemical.
 In a mechanical erasure such as with the traditional “rubber” eraser, an abrasive movement is made
upon the writing to be erased.
 In many cases of standard writing materials, abrasion of the paper can be seen either with a microscope
or side light. As a general rule, the better the paper, the less visual sign of erasure, particularly when the
action is done gently.
 Microscopic examination can often show signs of fiber movement and traces of the erasing “rubber.”
Indicators of a mechanical erasure can be fiber disturbance often resulting in paper roughness, or
smudging of writing.

8.  Fig: A chemical erasure

9.  In a chemical erasure, a solution is placed on the writing. This will not be effective if the ink is permanent.
 Chemical eradicators bleach the color from ink and in some cases remove the ink from the paper.
 Any treatment of paper with chemical fluids will expand the paper fibers. When the paper dries it does not
go back to its original size but leaves wrinkles at the location of the fluid.
 It may be necessary to use oblique lighting to see the wrinkles. Ink eradicators also stain the paper on
which they are applied and may cause the paper to change color.
 In many cases these substances remove the ink dye or color agent, but they leave chemical reactions, if not
the entire original writing, in the fibers; the object of an examination is to restore those reactions to
visibility, i.e. to read the obliterated writing.

10.  The commonly used chemicals for erasure purpose:
 Sodium hypochlorite
 Potassium permanganate
 Oxalic acid
 Stannous chloride solution
 Sodium tungstate
 sodium hydrosulfite.
 Hydrochloric acid
 Chemical erasure can also be done with suitable solvents. Ball-point pen inks can be partially or completely
removed from paper by the application of polar solvents such as tetrahydrofurane or acetone etc.

11.  Ink written over a chemically treated area will react differently on the affected section of paper. Visual
examination of the paper under magnification should reveal the changes in the paper and the ink.
 In any case, evidence of the use of a chemical erasing compound can frequently be found by viewing the
document in UV (both long and short wave); metallic salts have the tendency to retain the erasing
solution at a UV wavelength.
 UV, IR, Transmitted light help in the detection of erased material.

12.  Abrasion includes erasures usually executed with a rubber eraser or scraped with a sharp object, such as
a knife or razor blade.
 Graphite from pencil writing can be more easily erased than colored pencils. Rubber erasers absorb
some of the graphite while spreading the rest of it around the paper, usually leaving a smudge around
the location of the erasure.
 The Eberhard Faber Kneaded Rubber Eraser is a plastic rubber eraser that pulls the graphite from the
paper and cleans itself when kneaded. It can completely remove graphite particles from some
documents.
 The invention of the Paper Mate Erasable Ink Pen makes it possible to completely remove the erasable
ink from the writing surface when the ink is still wet. Once the ink sets or dries, it cannot be easily
removed.
 Water- or alcohol-based ink cannot be easily removed from a document because the ink penetrates the
writing surface and is absorbed into the paper.
 Ballpoint ink, which is glycerol-based, does not penetrate as much, but the ink dries quickly and is
difficult to remove. It requires hard rubbing with an abrasive eraser to remove ballpoint ink from a
document.
 Writing with a pen over erasures that have destroyed the finish of the paper will cause ink to be
absorbed more readily into the paper, creating a feathering effect.

13. EXAMINATION
 The document examiner should make a visual examination of the paper using strong light and magnification to see if
evidence of erasures is present. Use various types of lighting, including daylight, to assist in the detection of disturbed fibers
and residue on the paper.
 Inks that have been made invisible by the removal of the colored components can be detected by the luminescence of
whatever remains on or just below the surface.
 In all the processes of erasures it is possible that traces will remain that will fluoresce or luminesce when illuminated with
visible light.
 Observation will be affected by the luminescence of the paper, which can in some cases be greater than that of the traces of
ink residues.
 The laser is a particularly useful tool for erasures on documents because it provides high-intensity illumination.
 The application of sharp instrument causes disturbance on the surface finish of paper which can be detected by examining
the document by oblique light.
 The soft rubber erasure particles can be detected under microscope or by subjecting the erased area to iodine vapors.
 The VSC (video spectral comparator) can be used to decipher the alteration.

14.  When an ink dries on the paper, certain components may penetrate more deeply into the surface than
others. If these are not visible, there will be no reason to remove them when mechanical erasure is being
made.
 Infrared luminescence can be of value in detecting erasures of other materials such as typewriter ribbon
and stamp and pad inks. In some cases, it is not possible by this method to find out what has been
erased; not every erased ink will produce a luminescent trace.
 With or without the aid of a microscope, traces of ink or pencil may be detected and visually pieced
together to identify an erased entry. This is best done with a number of lighting facilities available.
 Oblique lighting, exploiting any indentations of remaining writing that may be present, and different
colored filters, to ensure the greatest contrast between the ink and the paper, will be of assistance.
 Traces of pencil from an erased entry can be enhanced by photography using high-contrast conditions or
infrared film.

15.  Examination with oblique lighting, an electrostatic detection device (EDD), a microscope,
photography, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or IR luminescence should establish in most instances
that there has been alteration.
 There has been some success in viewing erased text by use of an argon-ion laser (introduced
into use in 1977). Best results have been at 488 nm and 514.5 nm using Wratten filters 15 and
22.
 Examining the paper with transmitted light may reveal thinner paper in the area of the erasures.

16. RESTORATION OF ERASED MATERIAL
 Not all writing can be restored, although modern techniques make it possible to decipher many documents
that have been altered.
 Chemical erasure fluids do not affect the line indentation made by the writing instrument, especially if the pen
was a ballpoint or roller ball pen. Indentations can be deciphered using the electrostatic detection apparatus
or other indentation detection methods.
 Side-lighting techniques reveal indented writing, which can be photographed.
 Iron-based ink that has been chemically erased can be restored through fuming with sulfocyanic acid fumes.
The fumes combine with the iron to reveal the writing, which will appear red.
 Iodine fuming requires the process of sublimation, that is, the crystals are heated so they pass directly from
the solid to the gas state. Iodine fuming may intensify the writing impressions. The iodine deposits accumulate
in the writing grooves.
 With indelible pencil writing some of the unerased dye can be made more visible by moistening with a fine
spray of alcohol. The alcohol dissolves the remaining fragments of dye, causing them to spread, thereby
reproducing the erased portion.

17. OBLITERATION OR OVERWRITING
 Obliteration or blocking out of portions of writing by some opaque material — is seldom used for
fraudulent purposes because of its obviousness. These substances come in different forms, liquid or
dryline.
 Liquid Paper, sometimes known as White Out, is the most frequently used substance. It comes in a
variety of colors and is sold under different labels as correction fluid.
 Correction pens containing a liquid tempera are also available. Dryline Single Line Correction Film
is manufactured by Liquid Paper.
 These tapes are dispensed from a cartridge. When the original altered document is photocopied, it
obscures the alterations. Ultraviolet light will also reveal material under an opaque substance.
Correction tapes cover the written or typed material. Writing or typing can be done on the tape.
 obliteration – not to erase a text, but to cover it with a pasted text or to cut it out and paste in the
hole (to maintain uniform paper thickness).

18.  Typewriter correcting ribbons (stored on the typewriter, such as on the “Correcting Selectric”) do not
erase mistaken typewriting. They merely cover the mistakes with a white impression that is supposed to
blend into the sheet of paper. Again, concentrated light illumination from beneath the document is
generally sufficient to reading the document. CORRECTING TAPE
 In the 1960s correcting tape was popular for typewriters. This was chalk on a paper (special paper was
manufactured for carbon copy correction) which was placed over the mistaken letter. The incorrect letter
was typed, the paper was removed, then the correct letter was typed. In the mid-1990s an advanced lay-
down covering tape was introduced into the market.

19. CORRECTION FLUID
 This is used for both typed/printed text and handwriting. In this system liquids were introduced to “paint” over
the letters.
 This generally included a white paint in one bottle and trichloroethane, a dilutant, stored in a second bottle.
 In most cases it is sufficient to shine a concentrated light through the document to read the original text,
though at times it is necessary to use IR (illuminated from under the document).
 Alternative methods suggested have been cracking of the fluid through freezing, and the use of freon.
 Although physically removing correcting fluid might sound simple, the legal ramifications of proving the non-
existence of an intermediate layer should be taken into consideration.
 The same can be said regarding chemical removal of stains intended to obliterate writing. Correction fluid has
been manufactured in numerous countries; although most often white, in many countries it does come in a
number of different colors to match the paper used (reported in blue, gray, green, off-white/ivory, pink, yellow,
and shades thereof).

20. DECIPHERMENT
 A document can be photographed using transmitted light. This is accomplished by placing a document on a
light box and photographing it. In some cases the opaque material leaves an outline of the printed material.
 The paper can be sprayed with a solvent that will make it translucent. The spray does not damage the paper
because the paper will return to its original form when dry.
 To increase the drying time, lay the paper on a flat surface and place a piece of clear glass over the paper after
spraying it. Use a mirror to read because you will be looking at the back of the paper.
 Opaque material can be removed from a document with a solvent such as acetone.
 A simple non-destructive new technique for deciphering opaque writing and documenting the scanned
material uses acetate sheets and a photocopier.
 Place the document on the photocopier with the opaque material face up. Cover with a piece of black paper
and adjust the toner level to full dark.
 Insert a transparency sheet in the paper tray and make a transparent copy. The copy will contain the obscured
material read through the paper.

21. ADDITION
 Addition in the document is defined as the insertion of any word, digit etc. which changes the meaning
or value of the document.
 These insertions are made in such spaces as may have been left blank in the regular entries either in the
middle or at the bottom of the page.
 If the additional matter is written in a small space the size of letters will be smaller and writing will
appear cramped or if space is large enough then letters are in large size to cover up the remaining
space.
 In addition alteration the examination can be done to identify the characteristic features of handwriting:
 size of letter,
 spacing and pen-strokes
 Color ink should be made.

22.  The lack of uniformity of ink
 The work of more than one pen or output device
 Crowding, uneven margins, or different spacing
algorithms of a modifying section, if printed
 Evidence of the insertion of pages through the
study of the paper and fastening devices
 Sharp variation in handwriting;

23. INTERLINEATIONS
 Interlineations are defined as the writing between the lines for the purpose of adding to it or correcting
what has been written.
 In examining interlineations, the color of ink, quality of pen, size of letters, sequence of crossing strokes,
and the parts of letters which come in contact with the originally written letters should be minutely
studied.
 The fraudulent entries are likely to differ from the original or adjacent writing in size, slant, and spacing
and the shade of ink, etc.

24. INSERTIONS
 Material is sometimes fraudulently added to a contract or other legal document after it has been signed. This material can
drastically change the intent of the document.
 It is more difficult to detect additions that are skillfully added to a document than erasures.
 It becomes the task of the document examiner to determine if the addition or alteration was made after the document was
executed.
 Alterations may crowd the material that has already been placed on a document. Look for misalignment of material as well as
material that has been squeezed into a limited space.
 The writing will be smaller and tighter than the surrounding material, or the material will have a different style of writing or a
different writing instrument.
 Handwritten material written by a different writer can indicate a fraudulent entry. Even writing scripted by the same writer
may show significant differences owing to being added after the document was signed.
 Typewriter additions can be identified by the slight misalignment that occurs when a document is taken out of a typewriter
and reinserted. It is impossible to exactly align the type vertically and horizontally.
 A grid placed over the text will reveal any misalignment, which could indicate that text was added to a document.

25.  If a different typewriter was used, a study of the typeface will reveal subtle differences in the characters.
 A typewriter is a mechanical device that develops idiosyncrasies. This includes misalignment of letters,
broken serifs, ink-clogged circle letters, and other similar features. The perpetrator may use a similar
style typewriter, but his or her deception can be uncovered by the differences in the idiosyncrasies.
 Examine the ink under various types of light, including ultraviolet and infrared, to identify differences.
 Colored filters can sometimes show differences.
 Thin-layer chromatography will reveal different inks, but this is a destructive test and should never be
conducted without written permission from the court.

26. PAGE SUBSTITUTION
 Occasionally an entire page is substituted in a multi-paged document.
 When page substitution is suspected, the paper on each page of the document should be carefully compared to determine if
a different type of paper was used. Study each page under various types of lighting because differences in color or texture
may be revealed.
 Ultraviolet lighting should also be used because different papers fluoresce differently. Back lighting should also be tried.
 Check the size of the paper, the edges for cuts, and the weight, and check the thickness with a micrometer. Check each page
for watermarks.
 Look for staple holes or holes from other fastening devices.
 Is there an extra set of holes on some pages and not others?
 Are there indentations from paper clips on some but not all of the pages?
 Are there indentations from writing on a previous page?
 Some writers will write on and sign documents starting with the top page with other pages underneath. Are the indentations
consistent from page to page?

27. OVERWRITING
 The overwriting may be genuine or fraudulent. Sometimes in order to correct a spelling mistake, to make
writing or figures more legible, or to correct/change some writing, the same writer may overwrite the
strokes or lines.
 Such overwriting are generally made boldly and no attempt is made to conceal the overwritten or
overwriting is the habit of a writer, the strokes are drawn carelessly.
 The fraudulent overwriting to change the contents of documents are usually made in a careful manner
and every effort is made by the preparator to conceal such changes made by him.
 When the original writing instrument and/ or ink are not available, the preparator tries to match the
color of inks and nature of the stroke.

28.  Most of the overwriting can be detected by examining the document carefully under direct light, by
oblique light and transmitted light to find out any overlapping and changed intensity of the strokes and
under low power microscope to detect careful joining, traces of original ink beneath the overwritten
stroke and for differentiating inks.
 Sometimes an examination with UV rays, IR rays, and color filters may also prove useful for this purpose.
 The examiner should never forget to examine the back of the document because overwriting is usually
made cautiously by applying heavy pen pressure causing embossing on the back of paper which may
help a lot to reveal the truth.