ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 January 1982
Page Count: 8

The U.S. Postal Money Order As a Questioned Document
Muehlberger, RJ
Document analyst and assistant director, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Southern Region Crime Laboratory, TN

(Received 4 April 1981; accepted 28 May 1981)

Abstract

The U.S. Postal Money Order is a negotiable instrument widely used by the general public for conducting financial transactions. The integrity of this document has occasionally been violated by those individuals bent on criminal intent. Criminal activities such as counterfeiting, altering, and raising have been used to derive illicit gain. Knowledge of the production methods of genuine postal money orders and the proper manner in which they are issued to customers is essential in detecting the fraudulent money order. Some of the physical properties of the postal money order, as specified by the U.S. Postal Service, are presented in this paper, as are characteristics of the money order properly issued through the data recorder. Examination procedures, which can be effectively used by the document examiner to perceive those characteristics of the U.S. Postal Money Order that are indicative of genuineness, are discussed.

Keywords:
questioned documents, money orders

Paper ID: JFS11462J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11462J
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