The act of passing a forged document in person, by phone, or by computer is called:

• A. Forgery
• B. Uttering (passing)
• C. Counterfeiting
• D. Fraud

Answer: (B)

Uttering (passing) is the act of presenting a forged document to someone else as if it were genuine, with intent to defraud. The key idea is not who created the fake, but who passes it along to others. Even if you don’t physically hand it over—passing it by phone or through a computer—the offense is the act of putting the forged instrument into circulation as if it were real.

This is different from forging, which is the creation or alteration of the document itself. Counterfeiting usually refers to currency, not documents. Fraud is a broader term for deception, but the specific act described—passing a forged document to another as genuine—fits the definition of uttering best. For example, presenting a fake check to a store or submitting a forged invoice to a client constitutes uttering because the document is being passed off as legitimate.