Tuesday, July 28, 2009

To You, I Give All My Property

I've always been fascinated with handwriting fonts. It's quite amazing how software could replicate your personal handwriting down to the last dot. But imagine the implications in relation to wills, or any other document. But let's take wills.

Let's say I'm fraudulent scheming person who wants to inherit from my "long lost relative," who is incidentally a gazillionaire and who has no other family members to speak of. What is in my arsenal to commit fraud? First, RA 8792 has elevated electronic documents to be the functional equivalent of a written document (Sec. 7). Second, the Rodelas doctrine in Succession says that a photostatic copy of a holographic will can be a substitute for the original in probate proceedings. Third, I have a friend who knows Photoshop (and she Photoshops really well...hehe hi Keisie!)

Using the software, I make a forged will, typing all the dispositions to my liking. Keisie then scans the signature of the dead guy and pastes it into the electronic will and Presto! We now have a copy of the "holographic will," which I could submit to probate. Let's just hope that no one opposes it. hehe.

Easy as pie, isn't it? Technology certainly has created more avenues for fraud. There will come a time when retina scans and DNA could be "copied" as well. Tsk. The world is no longer a safe place...bwahaha.

No comments: