1. Introduction
The development of digital technology has drastically changed
the concept of written document and, along with it, the nature
and perpetration of white-collar crimes. Owing to revolutionary
changes made possible by new technology, forgers are
becoming tech-savvy and are capable of fabricating documents
with or without signatures using the skills and tools these modern
technologies afford. Forgery of documents, e.g., important
government documents, wills and educational certificates have
become easy to perfect. As a result of these advances in science
and technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult to
determine the authenticity of a file transferred through a network.
Therefore, it is essential for the Forensic Document
Examiners to keep abreast of the latest technological and
scientific advances in the field.
In most cases, forgers apply cut and paste techniques to
manipulate figures, letters, or words that consequently alter
the meaning of the document. Workers have reported the
use of image processing techniques in forensic document examinations.
1–5 The present study aims to explore the uses of
image processing techniques for the examination of computer
manipulated documents. The primary goal of this research is
to study and characterize the various forms of alterations that
have been found in a written document.