What Happens if Someone Forges Your Signature

We sign things almost every day without giving it much thought. A delivery receipt, a contract for a new job, a form at the doctor's office, approving a credit card transaction at the store - it's become a routine part of life we rarely stop to think about.

Because we do it so often, it's easy to forget the power that tiny scribble holds. When you sign your name, you're accepting a whole host of legal and financial responsibilities and consequences.

Now, imagine someone else gets their hands on your signature and starts using it without your knowledge. Here's why they'd do it, what kind of damage they can do, and how to protect yourself.

Why someone would forge your signature

Two words: financial gain. What most forgery cases come down to is someone trying to get their hands on your money. From signing fraudulent contracts to committing identity theft or even transferring property ownership, the motivations can range from quick cash grabs to more elaborate schemes.

In short, forging your signature gives someone the power to pretend to be you and use that power for their own benefit, leaving you to deal with the fallout. If their attempt to forge your signature is successful, they can:

Get access to your money

Someone could sign a check, withdraw money from your accounts, or make purchases without you knowing until it's too late.

Sign contracts in your name

Imagine being legally tied to a loan or a lease you never signed up for. A forged signature can land you in all kinds of legal trouble, from owing money to being held responsible for agreements you didn’t make.

Damage your credit score

When a forger uses your signature to take out credit cards or loans, the unpaid debt counts towards your credit. A major hit in your credit score then makes it harder for you to get loans or even rent an apartment.

Steal your property

In extreme cases, a forger could use your signature to transfer ownership of your property. The worst thing is, you might not even know it’s happening until someone else claims your house.

Damage your reputation

If your forged signature is used in other illegal activities, you might have to prove you didn’t sign the document. This often involves hiring lawyers and spending time and money clearing your name.

You could be putting yourself at risk

Seeing that signature forgery leads to serious financial and legal consequences, your best bet is to stop it from happening in the first place. Think about how many risks you're taking with your signatures on a regular basis. For example, you could be:

• Keeping documents containing physical signatures easily accessible
• Storing scanned copies of signatures in unencrypted formats
• Forgetting to revoke access to signature tools when appropriate
• Sharing passwords and keys used to authenticate digital signatures
• Using outdated or unverified eSignature services
• Sending sensitive documents via email without encryption

All of these practices put you at risk by giving forgers the opportunity to access and misuse your signature. For example, a signature on a physical document lets scammers know what your signature looks like. Forging it then is just a matter of copying skills.

With scans and unencrypted email sends, scammers can intercept your data, then use image editing software to apply your signature to a document.

How to protect yourself from signature forgery

Go digital

When done right, eSignatures are more secure than handwritten ones. The key is to choose a reliable digital signature platform that uses strict measures to ensure your documents and the data inside them stay secure.

For example, Better Proposals uses ISO27001 and SOCII certified data centers. In addition to that, all your data is secured with 256-bit encryption. This means that even if your data was intercepted during transmission or accessed through a breach, it would remain unreadable and secure.

For additional account security, you can also use two-factor authentication (2FA). This makes sure that, even if someone were to gain access to your Better Proposals password, they still couldn't get in without a code only you have access to.

With Better Proposals, your eSignatures are compliant with both EU and US regulations, ensuring they carry the same legal weight as handwritten signatures. We record the signature date and time, as well as the signer's IP address and email. This gives you a reliable audit trail that can serve as evidence in the event of a legal dispute.

Create a complex handwritten signature

If you're not on board with using digital signatures, you can also take steps to making your handwritten one harder to forge. Adding more lines and curves to the lettering, using uncommon pen directions while signing, or making your signature illegible make it more complex. As such, it's more difficult to forge and easier for experts to identify.

However, keep in mind that practice makes perfect, so even the most complex wet signatures still put you at risk. What's more, the variations that happen while signing in ink could make it difficult to identify an authentic signature from a forged one.

Final thoughts

Proving a fraudulent signature, whether physical or digital, can be incredibly stressful. Besides gathering evidence, testifying in court, and navigating complex legal systems, you're also dealing with the emotional toll of having your identity compromised.

That said, when it comes to signing important documents, you're better off using eSignatures. Besides being more cost effective, they're also more reliable and easier to trace back to the signer.