Intro to Paralegal Studies Practice

What does forgery specifically involve?

1. Manipulating financial reports

2. Faking signatures or altering documents to defraud

3. Creating counterfeit money

4. Unauthorized usage of someone else's identity

The correct answer is: Faking signatures or altering documents to defraud

Forgery specifically involves the act of faking signatures or altering documents with the intent to defraud. This definition encompasses a range of deceptive practices whereby an individual deliberately falsifies legal documents or signatures to create the impression that they are authentic, often to mislead another party for financial or personal gain. For instance, someone might forge a signature on a contract to falsely bind another person to an agreement, or they might alter the terms of an official document to deceive others. The key element here is the intent to deceive and the manipulation of documents or signatures to achieve that goal. In contrast, manipulating financial reports could involve unethical or illegal practices within accounting but does not fall under the traditional definition of forgery itself. Creating counterfeit money is a separate criminal offense related to counterfeiting rather than forgery, even though both share the element of deception. Lastly, the unauthorized usage of someone else’s identity pertains more to identity theft rather than forgery, which specifically entails document manipulation.