A former conman, Frank Abagnale (remember the movie Con Man, about the man who pretended to be a PanAm pilot?), shows how easy it is to forge something these days, in this article from Wired: “Technology Breeds Crime”. Prepare to be stunned, if you didn’t already know this.
Fifty years ago, information was hard to come by. When you created a cheque you had no way of knowing where in reality British Airways’ bank was, who was authorised to sign their cheques and you didn’t know their account number. Today you can call any corporation in the world and tell them you are getting ready to wire them money and they will tell you the bank, the wiring number, the account number. You can then ask for a copy of the annual report and on page three are the signatures of the chairman of the board, the CEO and the treasurer. It’s all on white glossy paper with black ink — scanner ready art. You then just print it onto the cheque.