Example of an altered check
[To see the second image at higher resolution, please click on that photo]
The alteration process of a bank check is shown in these two photographs. The modification was accurately accomplished by smooth removal and substitution of some inscriptions (beneficiary, amount). The document alteration could not be perceived with immediate clarity; on the contrary - even with a 10 times microscope magnification - it was not possible to assess with certitude what had happened to the check.
The alteration signs finally became detectable through cold-light close macrophotography (photo #2): the watermark substratum (mainly consisting of the Bank's initials as a three letter abbreviation) progressively fades out as the eye moves away from the check's printed number and approaches the lines dedicated to the entries regarding amount and beneficiary. Here, at last, the watermark symbol is utterly vanished, as a result of its inevitable removal during the writing's alteration and substitution processes.