Forgery

Forgery is the making, alteration or possession of an inauthentic document with the intent to deceive in legal matters. This can take multiple forms, such as falsifying a diploma, signature or altering the actual content of a document. Also making a new document or deleting parts of a document can entail forgery. Essential to forgery is that the used document is a document in writing, which could also entail an electronic document. When the latter is not the case, such defrauding actions are called counterfeit, which can also be punished by criminal law. Counterfeit means that an inauthentic item is pretended to be genuine, such as for example works of art, a currency or jewellery. Next to this, in order to be considered forgery, the document in question must have an apparent legal significance. Examples of this could be any government-issued document, such as a passport or drivers’ licence or other documents such as wills, patents or medical prescriptions. On the other hand, a vacation letter sent to a friend whereby another person’s name is signed to the letter does not constitute forgery, seeing that it does not affect legal rights and obligations. Lastly, to be considered a false document, the document must be made, altered or deleted with the intent for it to purport or represent something that it is not. For example, merely inserting untrue statements into a document is not enough if the overall meaning of this writing remains the same.