Dear LPG readers,

Can you remember the first time you ever signed a document?  When I was young, I saw my parents do it from time to time, and it often provided one of those ‘everything goes silent’ moments in a television drama. 

I remember spending a lifetime putting my name at the top of bits of paper at school, on the top of homework, and on the front of exercise books.  The inconvenience of having to spend so much time writing my name back then influenced one of the most serious considerations when I was choosing names for my children.  I made sure that theirs were short.  I will only offer my initials at the bottom of this message, but my parents chose a long one for me.

I'm not sure when all that name writing morphed into a fully blown signature, but seeing all the grown-ups doing it got me into some serious practice before too long. I remember comparing the stylised version of my name with those of my friends.

Have you noticed that whenever you see someone sign something in a television drama or film, it is really important?  It often has to be witnessed, and in films and reality, I remember it being one of the times when either a quill or, at the very least, a fountain pen would be the writing implement of choice. It is an occasion when we oldies would swap our ballpoint pens with a document-signing tool, depending on the importance that the mark will make on our lives.   

My marriage certificate was a significant signing moment, but after that, there are so many other occasions when you have to make your mark.  It is not long before the unique wrist movement you use when producing it has a lot more to do with its unique look on the paper than what is written…

We used to need it for signing cheques, job applications, deeds, and various agreements and contracts throughout our lives. Still, as we conduct more transactions remotely, we are starting to be asked to sign on an electronically dotted line, as opposed to one produced with ink on paper.

Signing a document online is a relatively simple thing to do, even if you don’t use one of the special apps that are there to help you.   There are only four basic types of documents that a computer can produce.  One can be made up of letters and numbers, a sound bite, a picture, or a video clip. The easiest way to produce a signature is to take a picture of yourself on your phone and then add it to your document.  Most people with any IT knowledge are likely to be able to help you if you’re unsure how, but before doing so, I suggest you think carefully.

Whatever else I have learned about signing something is overshadowed by the importance of where we are likely to put our personal squiggle.  Signatures are usually legally binding, and we are aware that forgery is a serious crime.  It can be seen as an art form, and the ability to copy one to the point where it cannot be distinguished from the real thing has put people in all sorts of trouble in the past.   When you were in school, did you ever forge your parents’ signature on a letter to excuse you from homework or P.E.? I know a few people who have, and that’s just the tip of a really big iceberg!

If you take a picture of your signature and add it to an online document, you don’t even have to be an expert forger to steal it.  For those who know how, lifting that photograph of it and putting it on the dotted line of some other document is yet another way of abusing your identity. 

Several services are working to make this issue is secure, and in the future, I doubt everyone will be utilising them. Still, for now, and until we have no choice, I suggest that we oldies stick to the old-fashioned ways, which don’t involve anything electronic.

Usually, the time factor is the variable that provokes people to do it. There are supposedly a few safe ways to achieve this means to an end, but even though it will take a lot longer to print that document, sign it with a pen and make sure it gets to the person it is intended for, I would suggest that you do it the old-fashioned way if you can…  

BF, Downham.

BF offers a tutorial or two explaining how easy it is to sign something online…

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Although most of the information comes from the viewpoint of people trying to make it safer for someone else to sign on their electronic dotted line, some thoughts on the safety aspect…

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