Can You Spot a Fake? Ukrainian Border Guards Learn to Outsmart Document Forgers
May 19, 2025
Imagine this: a traveler walks up to the Ukrainian border with a passport that looks flawless. The photo matches, the security features glimmer, the printing is crisp and everything seems in order – at first glance. But then, a trained inspector notices something off: a suspicious font, unusual lamination, or a hologram that doesn’t behave quite right under UV light. That one observation could stop a forged document, and a potential crime, in its tracks.
That’s exactly the kind of skill 15 SBGS inspectors improved during an intensive two-day training on 29–30 April at the Rava-Ruska border crossing point, Lviv region. Organized by the EUAM Field Office Lviv and led by two experienced experts from the Finnish Border Guard, the training focused on first-line document inspection and aimed to sharpen the eyes and instincts of those standing at the frontline of border security.
This wasn’t just about PowerPoint presentations and lectures. The course combined essential theory with hands-on exercises using inspection tools and real-life fake document samples brought by the trainers from Finland. “Finnish Border Guards confiscate fake documents detected at the borders and use them in training. This is a very handy approach, and we would recommend for Ukrainian SBGS training institutions to apply such a practice on a larger scale allowing young border guards to develop detection skills using tangible learning kits”, says Antti Hartikainen, EUAM Senior Border/IBM Adviser.
Participants learned how forgers manipulate everything from fonts and printing methods to photo overlays, laminates, fibers, and security features. They practiced identifying impostors who are using someone else’s passport, learned how to differentiate between inkjet, offset, intaglio, letterpress and microtext printing techniques, and worked with UV lights and magnifiers to spot subtle irregularities invisible to the naked eye.
The participants came from different border crossing points across the Lviv region. Each inspector received a package with theoretical materials and will now take what they learned back to their respective duty stations to share knowledge and techniques with their colleagues. This will raise the standard of document inspection across multiple points of entry.
In today’s world, forged travel and ID documents don’t just help someone sneak across a border – they can be tools for smuggling, trafficking, or other forms of cross-border crime. That’s why this kind of training is so critical. As one participant put it, “This training gave us tools we can use the very next day on duty.” Encouraged by the positive feedback and support from the Finnish Border Guard, FO Lviv is now considering to roll out the training to other regions of western Ukraine.
Next time you hand over your passport at a checkpoint, remember that someone’s trained eyes are scanning every detail. Because when it comes to border security, being able to spot a fake isn’t just a skill, it’s a responsibility.
