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Law Technology

: The Connected Lawyer

Fake Fax Signatures

By Bryan

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Bruce Schneier has a great post on the apparent insecurity of fax signatures. Bruce is right of course in his assertion that fax signatures can be easily forged, especially if you have a copy of your signature on your computer.

However, as Bruce points out, fax signatures are accepted because they are typically only one small part of a transaction and that there are other circumstances within a transaction that provide security that the fax signature is a valid binding signature.

I loved his observation that:

Signatures themselves are poorly defined. Sometimes a document is valid even if not signed: A person with both hands in a cast can still buy a house. Sometimes a document is invalid even if signed: The signer might be drunk, or have a gun pointed at his head. Or he might be a minor. Sometimes a valid signature isn’t enough; in the United States there is an entire infrastructure of “notary publics” who officially witness signed documents. When I started filing my tax returns electronically, I had to sign a document stating that I wouldn’t be signing my income tax documents. And banks don’t even bother verifying signatures on checks less than $30,000; it’s cheaper to deal with fraud after the fact than prevent it.

Check out the entire post. It’s a great read.

Full post as published by The Connected Lawyer on June 03, 2008 (boomark / email).