3D hologram to foil forgers

A new technique to detect counterfeits could help police bust forgers.

The method creates a 3D hologram of a piece of handwriting and analyses minute variations and bumps along its path.

Until now detecting forged signatures on wills or bank cheques has been done by experts who analyse "strokes" in a piece of handwriting using normal 2D samples.

Giuseppe Schirripa Spagnolo, a professor at Rome University who led a team in developing the new method, said: "Finding these bumps allows experts to easily determine the sequence of strokes in a piece of handwriting, and the telltale signs of a forgery or original. Another benefit is that it doesn't damage the sample.

"We believe this sort of 3D mapping is one of the most promising ways of detecting forged handwriting and it will be a powerful tool for forensic experts around the world."