If you want to verify the identity of a signature, get a notary or a witness. Signatures were never intended for that.[fn] Signatures became common as a legal

If you want to verify the identity of a signature, get a notary or a witness. Signatures were never intended for that.[fn] Signatures became common as a legal formality in an age when many people were illiterate and signed their name with an "X" (which is still legal in the US). As with everything else in the US, there's a ton of racial history around the "X" signature that isn't relevant here, other than it's been known for hundreds of years that a plain signature isn't enough to verify the identity of the signer. Instead, the signature came about as a formality to make clear to everyone involved that the person signing a document intended it to have legal effect. It's the difference between writing a note saying "I'll sell you my house for $100" and a signed contract --- there might be a question whether you intended the note to be binding, but there's no question that you intended a signed contract to be binding. [fn] By contrast, things like signet rings that were able to produce easy-to-verify but hard-to-copy wax impressions have been used for identity verification. Same for name stamps in certain parts of the world. (edit: stray formatting)