Security Documents are those documents which have special features to make them harder to replicate or counterfeit. These generally constitutes all the personal identity documents, financial documents and law related documents etc. Here are some of the commonly examined security documents and their characteristic features.

1. SECURITY
DOCUMENTS
 VIKASH KUMAR
 120204038020
 MSC FORENSIC SCIENCE 8th
SEMESTER

2. What is a
Document?
A Document in general can be
defined as, anything, which can
record or capture any event or thing
so that the information is not lost.
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3. What are security Documents?
The term “security documents” refers to the documents that incorporate
specific elements intended to make them more difficult to counterfeit, falsify,
alter or otherwise tamper with.
Some examples are travel and identity documents such as passports or
national identity cards as well as money, cheques and bank notes.

4. Need to make Security Documents more
secure?
Security documents are linked to several illegal activities classified as identity
crimes or identity related crimes.
Fraudulent documents are integral prerequisites for crimes such as smuggling
of migrants, trafficking in persons, mobility of terrorists, facilitation of the
smuggling of drugs, weapons and other goods, to commit cross border crimes
of all types.
To combat and prevent identity-related crimes there is a need for the
enhancement of security of security documents.

5. Some common Security Documents are-
Identity-related documents like-
 Passport
 Visas
 Voter ID Card
 Driver’s License
 Identity Card
 Aadhaar Card
Money-related documents-
 ATM cards
 Cheques
Legal documents like-
 Judicial and Non-Judicial Stamp Papers etc.
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6. Passport is an important travel document issued by a
government that contains a person’s identity for international
travels.
Indian passport can be classified into three main categories-
1. Diplomatic (Red Passport)
2. Official (White Passport)
3. General Citizen Passport (Blue)
In addition, Jumbo and Hajj passports are also issued.
PASSPORT-

7. Security Features-
I. Substrate- Ashok Pillar cylinder water marks
II. Cover page- Ashok Chakra printing (visible in 365nm)
III. First page-body printing- Black in visible light and green in
luminescence
IV. Heat Activated Ultra Violet (HAUV) film- Printing visible in red
and yellow in UV
V. Data page- Micro line, text, tint, design (Emblem, Govt. of
India), passport printing, rainbow printing: blue and orange
printing, gothic numbering, bifluorescent invisible design,
invisible fibres (green and blue)
VI. Page numbering- Micro lines on all pages visible and invisible
VII.Passport number- 8 digit alphaneumeric laser perforated
conicals of passport booklet.
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed
under CC BY-SA

8. Forgery in Passport-
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• Data-pages- In case there is change in data/cover pages
• Photo substitute- In this case the original photo of the passport holder is
removed
• Impersonation- In this case no forgery exists in travel document. Some
passport holder uses passport, identity card etc. of other person
• Forged immigration stamp- This is done in order to get entry into countries
abroad
• Managed stamp- It is different from forged stamp. In this case genuine stamp
is affixed on a passport, but there is no record of arrival/departure of the
passport holder in immigration
• Re-stitching of passport or changes of pages of passport- This case is
generally seen when the passport holder tries to conceal material facts, e.g.
Some remarks passed in the passport.

9. • Obtaining passport by fraudulent means- Sometimes the passport
holder obtains the passport from some other place where he is not
residing. In this case more than one passport is in possession with the
person. In this case, there is no forgery in the passport.
• Obtaining passport of other Nationality- In this case person of other
nationality obtains Indian passport, eg. Sri Lankan, Nepali, Tibetan,
Afghan national.
• No departure stamp- In these cases, only arrival is registered, there is
no departure stamp in the passport of the holder.
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10. Fig- Showing Ashoka
Chakra on outer cover of
the passport
Fig- E-passport
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11.  Indian Visa-
A Visa is a conditional authorization granted by a political entity to
a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its
territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of foreigner’s
stay, areas within the country they may enter, the dates they may
enter, the number of permitted visits, or if the individual can work in
the country in question.
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12. Fig- An Indian Visa
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13. Security Features-
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1. Use of Optical Brightening Agent (OBA) free paper
2. Rainbow and Guilloche pattern printing
3. Presence of hexagonal shaped planchettes and invisible fibers
(blue and red)
4. Chemical sensitive paper
5. Ashoka Chakra in the background and Ashoka Pillar in the center
6. Micro lettering of visa in bilingual
7. 2-D barcoding of ISP and date of printing
8. Printing with UV fluorescent ink.

14. Forgery in Visa-
I. Forged visa- Passport holder is having genuine passport but forged
visa in passport
II. Chemical wash visa- In this case, visa is issued from the embassy to
some other person. With the use of chemical, visa is washed and name,
date of birth, passport number is changed
III. Stolen visa- generally blank visa is stolen from the embassy without
issuing to anyone. The visa carries all security features
IV. Obtaining visa from abroad without travelling abroad- It is an
offence as the passport cannot be sent abroad by post
V. Obtaining visa from embassy by fraudulent means- In this case visa
is genuine but the travel agent arranges the visa by submitting
managed/forged documents of the passport holder like bank account,
property paper, salary etc.

15. VI. Change of boarding card- In such case, a person has domestic ticket and
obtains a boarding card. Another person possesses an international ticket and
thus has an international boarding card. After immigration clearance, they both
exchange their boarding card in transit hall.
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16.  Driving License-
A driving license is an official document that authorizes its holder to operate
various types of motor vehicles on highways and some other roads to which
the public has access.
A driving license is required in India by any person driving a vehicle on any
highway or other road defined in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
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17. Security Features-
• Each card is the size and shape of a standard credit card but is more
flexible and has a somewhat different texture
• On the front of the card, a virtual image of a loon appears to float above or
sink below the surface of the card as the viewing angle changes
• A digital image of the cardholder is fused with heat into card plastic. Fine
line printing over the image reveals tampering attempts. The image always
appears on the left
• A holographic state seal that appears on the front of the card is visible only
under ultraviolet light
• The new cards have a rainbow print pattern.
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18. Fig- Driving License
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19.  Identity Card-
The design and security features of identity cards of different
organizations vary considerably. There is no standard format of I-cards
like passport and visas.
An Identity card carries personal information of an individual as well as
the name and address of the issuing company or institute.
An Identity card is usually valid only inside the premises of the issuing
authority and cannot be used as a valid means of personal
identification.
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20. Fig- A Sample Identity
Card
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21.  Aadhaar Card-
Aadhaar card is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the
Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Govt. of India. The
number serves as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in India.
• It is voluntary service that every resident can avail irrespective of current
documentation
• Enables identification for every resident Indian
• Establishes uniqueness of every individual on the basis of demographic and
biometric information
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22. Features of Aadhaar card-
• Uniqueness- The UIDAI issues 12-digit identification number to Indian
residents which is unique to every individual
• Random number- Aadhaar number is unique in its way and is devoid of
any kind of intelligence. People are required to provide minimal
demographic and biometric information to enroll for aadhaar.
• Portability- Aadhaar offers nationwide portability for Indian residents and
can be authenticated anywhere online in India.
• Open source technologies- UIDAI has adopted open source technology
which restricts dependence on specific computer hardware, storage, OS,
database vendor or any specific vendor technologies to scale.
• Scalable technology architecture- UIDAI stores residents data centrally,
and it can be authenticated online from anywhere in india. The
architecture of UIDAI is designed in such a way that its open and scalable.
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23. Fig- A Sample of Aadhaar
card
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24.  Registration Certificate-
A vehicle registration certificate is an
official document providing proof of
registration of a vehicle.
It is used primarily by government as a
means of ensuring that all road vehicles
are on the national vehicle register, but
is also used as a form of law
enforcement and to facilitate change of
ownership when buying and selling a
vehicle.

25. Fig- A Sample Registration
Certificate
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26. Security Features-
• Color and font of the certificate- In fake certificate, the text is given in
light font with different font styles
• Size of vehicle registration certificate- A fake certificate is way much
bigger in size as in comparison to original certificate that is issued by
official authorities.
• Finish of the registration certificate- A fake registration certificate has
improper finish with additional lines on upper or lower part of the
certificate.
• Base paper of certificate- The original registration certificate has
perfectly clear base paper format as opposed to the base paper used
in a fake certificate.
• Color of the stamp on the certificate- Every registration certificate
comes with a stamp at the bottom part of certificate. In original
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27.  Electors Photo Identity Card
(EPIC)-
Voter ID card or EPIC is a recognition card
provided by the election commission to all
qualified voters, to allow voter recognition on
election day.
The voter ID card is helpful only as a voter
recognition paper at polling booths on election
day.
It remains valid even if a person have to alter their
address from one area to another within the same
city, one city to others within the same state or
even from one state to other.
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28. Fig- A Sample image of
EPIC
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29. Security Features-
• The cover is to save anyone from alter data on the card
• A fingerprint of the voter on the card as well as on the form used to
generate the voters list
• A picture of the voter
• The signature of the voter
• Background printing in colors other than black to deter fraud
• A voter recognition number resemblance to the number on the voter
registration form, as a means of stop the stock of forms and related
cards
• It is a good form of recognition
• It gives as acceptance that the voter has properly applied.

30. • It contains many identifying quality to give more words that the voter is who
he or she declares to be
• It can be a successful form of identifying where some voters do not have a
permanent address
• It gives voting in areas where the voter may not be known.
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31.  High Security Number Plates-
A High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) is an aluminium plate that is
registered electronically and linked to your vehicle. The HSRP comes
embedded with a chromium based Ashoka Chakra symbol in a blue colored
hologram.
These plates measure 20mm in length and 20mm in width and come with a
10-digit PIN that is engraved on the lower left corner of the HSRP plate
using laser technology.
High Security Number Plates are a mandatory requirement for all motor
vehicles in India.
New vehicles from 1st April 2019 need to have HSNP and the older vehicles
needs to change it to HSNP.

32. Fig- An image of High Security Number
Plate

33. Features-
• Deterrence against vehicle theft- HSRP have advanced safety
features which are impossible to tamper with or duplicate, making it
extremely difficult for thieves to replace them with counterfeit plates
• Authenticity verification- The imprinted hologram and unique
identification code on HSRP help the authorities to quickly track and
easily verify the authenticity of a particular vehicle
• Enhanced road safety- by promoting the use of HSRP Indian govt.
aims to ensure and improve road safety by tracking vehicles involved
in traffic violations, accidents, or any other unlawful activity

34.  ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine. ATM card is a PIN based
card issued by a bank to account holders to use it for various purposes
at the ATM
 ATM cards are generally debit cards.
 ATM cards use 4-digit PIN which is linked to the bank account. Upon
withdrawal, the person’s bank account balance is reduced in real time
if any cash is withdrawn.
 ATM cards-

35. Fig- A sample image of an ATM card from
VISA
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36. Security Features-
• Card design- The actual design of the card is upto the card issuer. It
may have features like flexibility, flammability., toxicity as according to
the issuer.
• Chip- The microchip present in a debit or credit card provides highly
secure processing capabilities. This includes verification that the correct
PIN has been used. The personal data of the person is found on the
magnetic stripe.
• Card number- Generally 16-digit. This identifies the account with the
first six digit comprising what is known as the BIN (Bank Identification
Number) and this identifies your card issuer and card scheme.
• Card scheme logo- This indicates which of the card schemes will be
applicable for clearing payments and that will retailers will accept your
card

37. • Hologram- An additional security feature to identify if the card is genuine
• Expiry date- The card number and the card’s expiry date are essential for
processing card payments
• Name- The cardholder’s name is displayed at the bottom of the card
• Magnetic stripe- The magnetic stripe holds some of the same
information as the chip
• Card Security code (CSC)- This 3-digit number on the signature panel
gives the retailer indication that you actually have the physical card in
your possession. In case of American Express, this code will be 4-digit on
the front of the card

38.  Cheque-
“Cheque” or “check” is a negotiable
instrument, a document generated by
the bank to demand payment from the
account of the Account Holder.
Section 13 of Negotiable Instrument Act,
1881 states that negotiable instrument is
a promissory note, bill of exchange or a
payable cheque

39. Fig- A Sample Cheque

40. Security features-
• Cheque design
• Color system
• Uniform Dimensions
• Uniform paper quality
• Watermarks
• Ultra violet light features
• Pantographic image
• Microscopic features

41. Some extra Security Features included by the
bank-
• Bar code or 2-d Quick response (QR) code-
• Holograms
• Security threads
• Security fibers
• Separate box system

42.  Judicial and Non-Judicial Stamp Papers-
Judicial stamp paper are often referred to as court fee stamp papers. To
eliminate cash transactions, judicial stamp papers are used to pay court
fees in court. The lawsuit may not be allowed until the court fee is paid.
Non-Judicial stamp papers are used to carry out any non judicial
commercial arrangements between parties. For instance, all kinds of
property transfer agreements, leasing agreements, affidavits etc.

43. Fig- Non-Judicial Stamp paper

44. Fake Judicial and Non-judicial stamp paper
features-
• The quality of UV inactive paper should be checked, windowed security
UV fluorescent thread and cylinder mould water marks of Mahatma
Gandhi in the stamp paper may be checked
• Absence of dual colored security fibers
• Chemically non-sensitive to ink-eradicates
• Absence of printing , absence or duplicate serial number, absence of
micro perforation of high value

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Case Study-

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47. THANK YOU.
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