apparatus and method for authenticating that a sender has sent certain information via a dispatcher to a recipient is disclosed . the method includes the steps of : providing a set a comprising a plurality of information elements a1 , . . . an , said information element a1 comprising the contents of said dispatched information , and said one or more information elements a2 , . . . an comprising dispatch - related information and comprise at least the following elements : a2 — a time indication associated with said dispatch ; and a3 — information describing the destination of said dispatch , and wherein at least one of said information elements is provided in a manner that is resistant or indicative of tamper attempts by said sender , associating said dispatch - related information with said element at by generating authentication - information , in particular comprising a representation of at least said elements a1 , a2 and a3 , said representation comprising a set of one or more elements , each comprising a representation of one or more elements of said set a ; securing at least part of said authentication - information against undetected tamper attempts of at least said sender . the dispatch relates either to transmission or to manual delivery . the apparatus implements the operations of the method .