What could indicate a document has been forged or altered?

A document exhibiting unnatural or inconsistent formatting is a strong indicator of possible forgery or alteration. Forensic document examination often involves assessing the visual and structural aspects of a document. If the formatting deviates significantly from what would be expected (for instance, unusual spacing, misaligned text, or inconsistent font sizes), it raises suspicions about the document's authenticity.

In many cases, legitimate documents follow standard formatting conventions, and any irregularities can suggest that the document may have been tampered with to alter its content or appearance. This analysis can involve examining margins, the font's uniformity, and the layout's coherence, which are essential in identifying fraudulent attempts.

The other options, such as consistent handwriting style, printed documents in standard fonts, and the presence of a watermark, are typically characteristics of legitimate documents. These features alone do not sufficiently indicate that a document has been forged or altered, as they may appear in both genuine and falsely created documents. Thus, the formatting irregularities stand out as a critical red flag in forensic investigations.