Signature Forgery: How to Report and Legal Sanctions

You need to know how to report signature forgery as a precaution if this happens. The reason is that cases of forgery of signatures are still happening today and can cause untold damages. In recent times, there have been cases of forgery that have made the public excited.

If you see this incident, immediately report it to the authorities so that legal action can be taken. Thorough knowledge of signatures will help you understand why this may be brought to justice. If so, just refer to the explanation below on how to report these forgery cases.

What is the Importance of a Signature?

A signature is valid evidence to show that someone agrees with the information in a letter or document. The existence of a signature in a document is important because it means that the information in it is genuine and can be trusted by all parties concerned.

Because of this, signatures are often forged. People who do not have the power to give orders and issue statements will try to forge signatures in order to achieve their personal interests.

Types of Signatures

The rapid development of technology has affected many aspects of human life, not only from how you work but also how it is executed. It’s the same as signatures that are starting to move from conventional or wet signatures to become more modern or digital. The following explains the two types of signatures.

1. Wet Signature

A wet signature is a handwriting made as a sign of approval by using pen ink on a piece of paper. Wet signatures as proof of agreement have been used for thousands of years.

Over time, there have also been stamps that have a similar purpose to signatures. Until now, the use of a stamp is still valid proof of someone’s approval, for example in Japan and Korea.

In Indonesia, the use of signatures is very important in various activities, ranging from signing documents, contracts, credit card payments, and much more.

Read also: Functions of Non-Bank Financial Institutions That You Must Know!

2. Digital Signature

A digital signature is a handwriting created for the same purpose as a wet signature. It’s just that, the manufacture is done digitally or electronically. It can be made from a computer, laptop, or cell phone.

Digital signatures emerged as a solution to the time-consuming approval process. Now, requests for signatures can be made directly by sending documents via e-mail.

Then the document can be directly processed to the next stage when it has been signed. Digital signatures are divided into three types, namely:

1. Simple

A simple signature does not mean having a simple form. Simple in this context means that the digital signature is not equipped with an encryption method. Simple signatures are generally used to provide low-level approval.

An example is like inserting a signature in an e-mail. However, keep in mind that this type of digital signature does not provide any reliable guarantee of legality or security.

Read also: What is the Definition of Face Recognition and Its Uses for a Company?

2. Basic

The basic signature is almost the same as the previous type. Basic signatures also do not provide the required legality and security guarantees. However, this signature has begun to be equipped with asymmetric cryptography methods.

The actual use of this method is to verify identity. However, this method still has drawbacks because it cannot show a verified real identity in more detail.

3. Advance

An advanced digital signature is the best type for you to use. This signature has been equipped with asymmetric cryptography methods and public key infrastructure to ensure its legality in the eyes of the law.

This method allows you to see the specific identity of the person doing the signature, for example what device was used, the time and location when the signing was done.

Advance signatures are also equipped with 2-factor authentication to identify the identity of the signer more accurately.

Read also: 4 Ways on How to Make a Digital Signature for Your Business Purposes

How to Report Signature Forgery

Do you think that counterfeiting will only happen to people of high position or power? This line of thinking is clearly wrong.

The fact is that there are many cases of forgery of signatures experienced by the community, such as in house documents, land, taking money from banks, and many more. That’s why you need to be aware of all the possibilities that occur. Here are three ways to report signature forgery:

1. Go to the Police Station

You can directly come to the nearest police station to report the occurrence of forged signatures. But before going to report, make sure you have sufficient evidence. Some evidence that you can bring, for example, is a letter with a fake signature.

2. Visit the Integrated Police Service Center Site

In addition to coming directly to the nearest police station, you can report the case online through the official website of the Indonesian National Police (Polri). Just type “www.polri.go.id”, then click “Services” in the menu section.

Next, click the “SPKT” option to make a complaint. From there, you will be taken to other sites for special needs such as public complaints to the police. Just follow all the instructions and your complaint will be processed.

3. Call the 110 Call Center

You can also directly contact the police call center at 110. If your situation is urgent because you risk your valuables or even your life, contact the police immediately so that the case can be processed quickly.

Legal Sanctions for Forgery of Signatures

The call for sanctions imposed on perpetrators of forgery of signatures should have been a deterrent. Every perpetrator of forgery will be subject to sanctions that have been determined as contained in the Criminal Code (KUHP) Article 263 paragraph 1.

The Criminal Code clearly states that,

“Whoever makes a forged document or falsifies a letter, which can issue a right, an agreement (obligation) or a debt relief, or which may be used as a statement for an act, with the intention of using or ordering other people to use the documents as if the letter is genuine and has not been falsified, then if using it can result in a loss of something, the sentence for falsification of the letter will be punishable by a maximum imprisonment of six years.”

Criminal Code Article 263 paragraph 1

This is information about the importance of signatures, the types of signatures that can be used to sanctions and how to report forged signatures.

Trusted Digital Service Provider

Knowledge of this should make you be more careful and start choosing a trusted digital signature service provider. One of the trusted service providers is AdIns. The AdIns Digital Signature service is equipped with all the advanced technologies that ensure the legality of the signer’s identity so you don’t have to worry about its security.

Say goodbye to lengthy approval processes and human errors that often hinder work productivity once you know how to report signature forgery. For more information, you can directly submit a demo by contacting AdIns’ team right now!