Years ago we had "paper bids". Signature required on the bid sheet.

A less than beloved JFK based Captain was awarded a 727 Cap bid to Miami. He almost fell over backwards when he strolled into dispatch and the crew scheduler says "Hey ...... I see you were awarded a Miami 727 Cap bid."

Someone spent a great deal of effort and time to forge his signature that looked like the real thing. He fought tooth and nail with the company to get out of the awarded vacancy. Ultimately he prevailed, much to the dismay of many co-pilots.

It was great while it lasted!