FORGERIES
Although not generally known it is a fact that banks, business
concerns, and the public in general probably suffer a greater loss
through the operations of forgers and bogus check operators than
through any other form of crimes perpetrated against them. There are
confined today in the penal institutions of this country, thousands of
persons convicted and found guilty of these offenses, and yet I would
venture to state that not over forty per cent of this class of criminal
is ever apprehended.
There is hardly a morning anywhere but what one may pick up a newspaper
and read an account of how some clever forger succeeded in victimizing
a bank, hotel or merchant. With this large number of forgers at large
and free to operate when, and practically wherever they please, we have
additional proof that there are today by no means sufficient trained
detectives to run them down. The methods most commonly practiced by
forgers, both professional and amateur, are quite well known, yet I
believe it will be well for me to dwell at some length on the subject.
In a general way I might state that the methods of all forgers are
much the same; at any rate such has been my experience with this class
of criminal. Their aim in most cases, before presenting for payment a
check to which a signature has been forged, or an endorsement, is to
ascertain if the firm or person against whom the check is to be drawn
has deposits sufficient to cover the check. After satisfying himself
on this point the forger proceeds to fill in the check and to affix
thereto a signature or an endorsement purported to be genuine.
After having selected the person whose signature or endorsement is to
be forged, the forger must next be familiar with the handwriting of
that person. It is comparatively an easy matter for anyone so inclined
to secure an original, facsimile or tracing of the average business or
professional man's signature. After providing himself thus the forger
sets about writing a check that will be so near like the genuine that
it will not be likely to be questioned when presented at the bank. The
forger usually makes it a point to present his check at a time when the
cashier or paying teller is busiest, and when the forgery will most
likely pass unnoticed.
In my experience I have found that employers very often are careless
in leaving their private check books, and sometimes signed checks,
lying around the office where a dishonest employee or other person may
have easy access to same. Very often cancelled checks fall into the
hands of forgers who promptly take advantage of the handwritings for
their ulterior purposes. There are dozens of ways by which a forger may
secure them. Workmen who receive their salaries from their employers in
the form of checks often are tempted to make use of the signature to
forge others and have them cashed.
Under this class of criminal we have also to contend with what are
known as bogus check operators, who, when writing and passing checks,
use fictitious names of banks and persons; also the worthless check
operator, who, after gaining the confidence of his employer, or of
some bank, writes and has cashed a check in excess of funds he may have
on deposit. The detective must not confuse forged checks with bogus
checks. The former is a check upon which is written what purports to be
the genuine signature or endorsement of some person and which signature
or endorsement was not written by, nor authorized by that person. The
latter is one upon which is written the name of some bank which does
not exist, or which may be drawn on a bank which does exist but at
which bank the drawer of the check has no account. There are also many
other forms of checks passed which come under the classification of
bogus checks.
Thousands of hotel keepers and merchants are victimized yearly through
cashing forged, bogus and worthless checks presented by oily tongued
swindlers who tell plausible stories as to how they happen to be out
of funds, etc. In order to be successful in handling forgery cases it
is essential that the detective be a good judge of human nature and of
handwriting. The more technical knowledge he may have of handwriting
the better.
If the detective is called upon to investigate, for instance, a case
wherein a bank has been defrauded through the operations of a forger,
he should endeavor first to see the forged check. A record should be
made as to the kind of blank form the check was drawn on, whether or
not same was drawn upon an ordinary counter check form, if the form was
taken from a private printed check book, or from a pocket check book.
Record should be made of the date, the number, on what bank drawn on,
in whose favor drawn, the amount, how signed, and how endorsed. Such
records should include whether or not the check or any part of it was
filled in with pen and ink, with pencil, or with a typewriter.
For the detective's future reference a tracing should be made of all
handwritings on the check, especially of any known to have been written
by the forger. By far the best plan is to have both sides of the check
photographed. Until such time as it may be needed as evidence in court,
a forged check should never be taken away from a bank, carried in the
pocket, or handled any more than may be absolutely necessary. The
reasons are that in taking such a check from a bank it may become lost,
and by carrying it or handling it the writings may become effaced. No
chances should be taken in losing or destroying the most important
evidence with which to prosecute the forger in case he is apprehended.
The detective should place his initials or some other mark upon the
original check so that he can positively identify it later if called
upon to do so.
At the bank the detective should secure as thorough a description as
possible of the person for whom the check was cashed, also should
make note of any statements made by the forger as to where he came
from, what firm he claimed to represent, or by whom employed, etc.
Hotel registers should be examined closely for any registration in
handwriting identical with that in the forged check. In order to
establish the identity of the forger if not known, or to learn the
direction in which he may have gone, the detective may proceed along
the lines outlined with regard to burglary cases.
I have handled hundreds of forgery cases and will say that I never
found the forger a criminal difficult to apprehend. There are two
good reasons why this should be so; the first is that the forger, as
a rule, must present himself in person at the bank or other place to
secure the money on his check, and by so doing enables the detective to
secure a good description of him, how he was dressed, etc.; the second
reason is that the forger when filling in his check, or by endorsing
it, must necessarily leave behind one of the very best clues for the
detection of any criminal, that being his handwriting.
In fully ninety per cent of forgery cases I have handled I have
found that the person whose signature was forged could tell, after
being questioned, who was responsible for the forgery, and I will
show you that the process is very simple and easy. I have in mind
a good many cases each of which I cleared up in less than half an
hour after arriving upon the ground. My plan was to first secure the
best description obtainable of the forger, then a specimen of his
handwriting, after which I would see or call upon the person whose
signature was forged. To that person I would submit the description
and the handwriting, and, as previously stated, ninety per cent of
them were able to tell very quickly which employee, relative, friend,
acquaintance, or enemy was responsible.
After the detective has learned the identity of a forger but cannot
locate him, he should keep in touch, under some good pretext, with the
forger's parents, wife, sweetheart, sister, brother or other relative
or friend. The forger will communicate with his sweetheart, friends
or relatives sooner or later; it is human nature and I have never
seen it fail. When the detective has succeeded in causing the arrest
of a forger, or of a suspected forger, he should endeavor to secure a
confession from him. I have secured many confessions from forgers by
saying to them in a friendly way that the best way for them to prove
that they had nothing to do with the forgery with which they were
charged, was to write a specimen of the forged check. It is really
surprising how many professional forgers will allow themselves to be
led into this simple ruse.
While the forger's mind is laboring under the strain of being under
arrest, and seeing possible conviction ahead, he is eager to take
advantage of what he thinks is an opportunity to prove that he did
not write the forgery and will rely upon his ability to disguise his
handwriting sufficiently to mislead the detective. Another reason why
he will comply with such a request is that he will fear his refusal
to give a specimen of his handwriting will be taken as an evidence of
guilt. As a matter of fact I have found no persons in my experience who
could successfully disguise their handwriting with their minds under
any kind of strain. The forger can therefore be easily led into hanging
himself with his own rope, as it were.
After securing such handwriting the detective should take out his
facsimile, or photographic copy of the forged check, and if he finds
the handwritings identical, he should point out the similarities to the
forger. There should be no difficulty experienced in securing a full
confession, and in addition the detective will have in his possession
the handwriting of the forger, which, I neglected to state, should be
secured in the presence of one or two reliable witnesses, so that the
confession and handwritings can be substantiated in court if necessary.
It goes without saying that efforts should be made by the detective to
secure such handwritings and the confession as soon after the forger's
arrest as possible. Should the forger or suspect have an opportunity to
confer with an attorney before this is done, the chances are that no
handwritings or confession will be secured.
Great care must be exercised by the detective when it is left to him
to have warrants issued for criminals of this class. It often happens
that one person will forge a signature or endorsement to a check,
then delegate a confederate or other person to present the check for
payment. Under these circumstances the presenter of such a check could
hardly be convicted of forgery, but he could be convicted of passing
the forged check and of obtaining money thereon. The point to be borne
in mind by the detective in such cases is, that in order to convict a
person of forgery, it is necessary to prove the handwriting, or produce
one or more witnesses who actually saw the signature or endorsement
being written. Warrants should be issued accordingly; the best kind of
warrant to be gotten out in such cases being one in which the offender
is charged with passing the forged check and with obtaining the money.
I have known quite a few clever forgers, who with the aid of good
attorneys, succeeded in beating their cases simply because the warrants
for their arrest were not properly gotten out, and which resulted in
improper indictments being returned against them. I have known dozens
of bungling detectives and officers to swear out warrants charging
persons with forgery when, as a matter of fact, the forgery could not
be proven, but a charge of passing a forged check and obtaining money
thereon could have been made and proven. In the cases I have in mind
the offenders went scott free simply because the wrong charge was
brought against them, and because they were given advantage of the law
itself to escape punishment.
As a whole I consider the forger one of the most dangerous of criminals
to be at large, but as stated, one of the easiest to apprehend when
proper methods are applied. I believe I will do well to recount
here what I considered, when it was first submitted to me, my most
difficult forgery case, but which in the end proved quite easy to
unravel and clear up. One day it was discovered by a bank in a small
town in the West that during the preceding seven months it cashed for
some unknown person eleven checks to which were forged the signature
and endorsements of one of the bank's customers. These forgeries were
discovered when the customer came into the town from his ranch to have
his pass book balanced. Upon being handed his cancelled checks he
discovered the forgeries.
In this particular case no person connected with the bank could recall
in the slightest degree for whom, nor for what kind of person they
cashed the checks. From the fact that the customer called at the bank
so rarely they did not know him by sight. Inasmuch as this customer
lived far out from the city on a ranch, he could throw no light on who
forged his signature to obtain the money from the bank, which, as I
recall it, amounted to several hundred dollars.
In looking over the forgeries and the dates upon which they were paid,
I found that they had been presented at the bank and were paid, on an
average, of one every three weeks. Outside of the forger's handwriting,
there was absolutely no clue upon which to work. After giving the case
several hours' thought, I came to the conclusion that the case, to my
way of thinking at that time, could be cleared up along only one line,
that being that I find the person through his handwriting.
The town in question was a county seat of about five thousand
population. I had concluded also that the culprit, from the fact of his
forgeries covering a period of seven months, must be a resident, or at
least an habitue of the town. I found myself figuring how long it would
take to enable me to see a specimen of the handwriting of every man in
the town. This being my plan I started to work along the line of least
resistance, going first to the court house, where I secured permission
to look over any and all kinds of records, in the hope of finding
somewhere in the town a specimen of handwriting identical with that
of the forger in the case. Near the close of the second day my search
was rewarded through my finding upon the payrolls of a contractor a
signature, every letter of which was identical with the same letter
in the forgeries, the forger being at that time in the employ of the
contractor. The same characteristics and peculiarities being evident in
both handwritings, I lost no time in effecting arrangements for having
the suspect brought before the town marshal and me.
We handed the man pen and ink and check forms, and upon his signifying
his willingness to write for us specimens of any checks we desired,
we of course had him write copies of the forgeries. His handwriting
proved to be identical to the smallest detail, with the handwriting in
the forgeries, and upon being shown both writings he made a confession
on the spot. Later he pleaded guilty to the charge of forgery and was
sentenced to serve two years in state prison.
A favorite method of offenders in defrauding banks, and which scheme
is worked somewhere every business day of the year, is to visit a bank
and open an account by depositing a bogus or worthless check, and which
transaction is usually handled by the receiving teller. As a rule a
pass book will be given to the offender in the regular way, but no
money will be paid out by the bank until it ascertains if the check
is good, and which, by ordinary methods, usually requires two days'
time, and longer if the check be drawn on a far distant bank. On the
day following the opening of the account the offender will visit the
bank and on this occasion approaches the paying teller. Of course, he
is not known to the paying teller, but he produces his pass book and
shows the paying teller that he has on deposit say one hundred dollars.
He asks to withdraw fifty. Hundreds of paying tellers have been caught
off their guard with this game by neglecting to look up the party's
account, and in an unguarded moment take it for granted that the
party's account is O. K.
Stolen pass books are an extensive source of loss to banks. Throughout
the country thousands of foreigners have savings accounts in banks.
With most of them it is customary to keep the bank books in their
trunks or rooms where they can easily be stolen by one of their
countrymen, who takes the book to the bank, impersonates the owner and
obtains the cash.
To illustrate the importance that the detective must give to the
small details when making an investigation, I was once called upon
to investigate a forgery that had been perpetrated upon a bank in
a town of about twenty thousand population. In this case a middle
aged woman presented a check and obtained eighty dollars thereon,
the check later proving to be a forgery. I questioned the paying
teller for an hour, but he seemed unable to assist me and could say
nothing about the woman except that she was of middle age and pleasant
appearing. This, however, was very vague, as there were in the town
probably five hundred women who were pleasant appearing and of middle
age. I persisted in having the paying teller revert his mind to the
occasion of the woman's visit to the bank, and he finally recalled
that the woman wore a pin bearing the emblem of a secret society of
some kind--he could not recall which. I immediately set to work, and
later in the day submitted to the paying teller a dozen or more lodge
emblems, when he selected the emblem of the Order of the Eastern Star
as being identical with what the woman wore. The foregoing consumed
one day, and the next morning I set about ascertaining what member of
the Order of the Eastern Star in that town or vicinity would have been
likely to pass the forged check. From the secretary of the order I
obtained a list of the members, then decided to take the secretary into
my confidence and asked him who of the members he thought would have
been most likely to commit this crime. His suspicions rested upon a
woman who lived in a village just outside of the town, and from all he
told me I became convinced she was the woman wanted.
The next morning, accompanied by the paying teller, I called at the
woman's home under a pretext, and when the paying teller promptly
identified her as being the woman for whom he cashed the check.
Many large sums of money have been obtained through forgery. The most
remarkable case ever brought to my attention was one that involved
$30,000.00. A man forty years of age had been made the business agent
of a wealthy lady who was some eighty years old. This man was also
named in the lady's will to be the executor of her estate after her
death. It happened, however, that this man died first and among his
papers and effects was found a note for $30,000.00 purporting to have
been signed by the woman in favor of this man. When claim was made upon
her for the amount of this note she promptly denied having ever signed
such a note, and pronounced the note a forgery, and so the note was
never paid. In this particular case it occurred to me that the man no
doubt believed that the woman for whom he was business agent would, in
all probability, die first, and when it would have been an easy matter
for him, as executor, to have taken possession of the amount of the
note. Because of the prominence of all parties concerned in this case,
it was never given publicity.
Raised checks are an extensive source of loss and annoyance to banks
and individuals. Many checks, after being written, mailed or sent, fall
into the hands of persons who make a practice of "raising" the amounts
for which the checks were originally intended and written, and then
pass or have them cashed. For instance, a check written for ten dollars
will be raised to one hundred dollars, or to whatever amount the raiser
may believe it can be passed without arousing the suspicions of the
bank, merchant or individual upon whom it is to be passed. I have seen
many raised checks, the favorite method of the latter day check raiser
being to remove from the check with chemicals the figures and wording
of the amounts, and then to insert a greater amount. The original
signature of the drawer of the check is of course left intact. It often
requires the aid of a magnifying glass to discover the erasure or
removal of the original writing. When necessary the name of the payee
is also removed and another name inserted.