Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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It's quite interesting, while in South Africa, we emphasise signing with black pens, many other countries have changed. The reason for that is quite simple, with scanners and advanced programs like Photoshop, somebody's signature can quite easily be faked onto a document. It becomes hard to dispute, at a quick glance, whether it is a genuine signature or not. A lot of international contracts are now signed in blue ink, so that the ink is a contrasting colour to the rest of the document in the normal black typeface. It's actually something to think about, and to perhaps give more consideration to having more documents signed in blue, so that an original, which has been faked, stands out more obviously than it might, if it's just scanned, which requires you to look a lot closer at the document to try and see whether it is genuine or not.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Friday 29-Mar-19
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Comments
candice said:
on Wednesday 15-May-19 04:28 PM
The blue pen idea is very clever, us in SA are so used to black pens so it would be hard to adapt to. but yes they will always find away around forging a signature
Natasha said:
on Monday 06-May-19 09:58 AM
I think it is a good idea to start signing documents in blue so that you can know when its a original document or the copy as well as you will know if its fake.
Daniella said:
on Monday 29-Apr-19 11:39 AM
I think this is a clever idea. When i was younger it was installed into me that we HAVE to sign with a black pen and I never understood why.
Melissa van Tellingen said:
on Tuesday 09-Apr-19 03:05 PM
I agree with Jadine. Definitely a great idea but people who have been taught a certain way would be difficult to change their views. I remember in High School we were only allowed to write in blue pen but in varsity we then had to switch to black. I'm sure someone would figure out a way to fake the blue pens as well. Just like everything else.
Michelle D said:
on Friday 05-Apr-19 09:36 AM
People will find a way to fake anything, signatures, court stamps. If blue became the new colour for signing, people would find a way to fake that too.
Mathilda said:
on Wednesday 03-Apr-19 03:22 PM
This is really clever, just shows you even the smallest changes can have a great impact on improving something or in this case lowering the possibility of forgery.
patrick said:
on Wednesday 03-Apr-19 07:52 AM
The world is an ever changing place. Every innovation always brings about a counter innovation. Fakers will always find a way around the blue pens.
Victoria said:
on Tuesday 02-Apr-19 04:32 PM
The blue ink is definitely a contrasting colour to the rest of the document and I agree everyone should consider signing in blue ink.
Cornelie said:
on Tuesday 02-Apr-19 10:12 AM
I agree a blue pen is much better to see and also no fraud of documents can take place although there is colour scanner but a different colour does work better.
Sinead said:
on Tuesday 02-Apr-19 08:08 AM
I have actually also started noticing this change lately. I think it's actually a good idea, for that exact reason! The fact that the document is typed in black, it should be signed in a different colour. I guess it is up to every company to decide how they want things done though
Brenda Du Toit said:
on Tuesday 02-Apr-19 07:35 AM
Great idea. I Personally loved using a blue pen.I agree that some of the copies that is sign in black pen does not come out clear.
Bianca Taljaard said:
on Tuesday 02-Apr-19 07:31 AM
That may not be such a bad idea, I don't think it will eliminate the problem completely but I'm sure it is worth a try
Prishani said:
on Monday 01-Apr-19 04:55 PM
This is a very interesting point. I wonder how many of the big corporates have adopted this strategy.
Jadine Richards said:
on Monday 01-Apr-19 04:37 PM
Its a novel idea but would likely be difficult to implement. People are stuck in their ways, including myself.
Megan said:
on Monday 01-Apr-19 10:07 AM
Definitely a great idea to aid in distinguishing real from fake! Personally loved using a blue pen when I was at school, could be nice to switch back to blue.
Joyce said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 04:41 PM
I think this is a brilliant idea by other countries, think that blue ink signature reduces fraud in people’s signatures and hope South Africa will also allow this idea.
Courtney said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 04:19 PM
It would be easier for me if the Attorneys begin to sign my Notice's in blue. Sometimes it's so difficult to set the "copy" and "original" apart.
Although black signatures on documents looks more professional.
Fikile said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 02:13 PM
We have always been told that you don't fill in nor sign documents with a blue pen because your form or application letter wont be approved or taken to consideration.
Alexis said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 12:32 PM
I am so used to always using black as it is the norm over here, its nice to see that the flaw has been picked up and that it will not be so easy to forge signatures anymore...I am sire it will reach here in due course
Angelica Canosa said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 11:19 AM
I been at university far too long using my pink,red and green pens even..It seems as black pen is standard in the business world . Using a blue pen to distinguish between originality is a very clever observation.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 09:37 AM
Certainly would be helpful in distinguishing which is original and which a copy. Signing in blue or black - many disparate views exist but I am not aware of any laws regarding the ink colour to be used. In South African law it really just depends on the formalities required rather than the ink colour. That being said, it really is up to companies to make that change to allowing their clients to rather sign in blue.
Zindy said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 09:10 AM
This is a very clever way to distinguish original docs then. Last time i used a blue pen was probably at school.
Ashleigh said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 08:49 AM
Interesting and this should be really considered. The last time I used a blue pen was in school which was 16 years ago.
Clare said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 08:34 AM
Blue pens was only used in School, now we use Black in the "Working World" but this is a great idea to do distinguishing an original from a fake copy. I like it.
Sarah said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 08:26 AM
They are using blue pens now because they contrast better with the documents you're writing on, which invariably use black ink.i prefer the to sign in black pen it looks more professional
Michelle Smillie said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 07:48 AM
This is such a smart idea. We will then also no longer need to run our finger over the paper to feel for indents, or turn it around to look for ink traces that flowed through the paper, to figure out which of the pages in front of us has the original signature on it. , Since all South Africa's legal documents still have to be filled in and signed in black ink,I hope South Africa catches up to this trend and realise the security it offers.
Jadine Esterhuizen said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 07:41 AM
Growing up it was almost a sin to be seen signing off documents with a blue pen. This would be very helpful in also distinguishing an original from a fake copy. Even with Notices that the attorneys attend to you would really have to keep the document close to see which is the original and which is a copy.
brumilde said:
on Friday 29-Mar-19 07:38 AM
Very interesting to read. Never thought about it. As i recall bookkeepers also prefer to work in green as this also cannot be duplicated or forged. I hope more companies look at simple things like this to help with corruption and fraud
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
