Property Management Tips – How To Spot Fake Paycheck Stubs

By Jeremy Raglin | December 24, 2021

During the process of tenant screening every landlord will at one point request paycheck stubs from a prospective tenant and the reality is that at some point an applicant may try to submit fake paycheck stubs.

Thankfully, landlords can easily know how to spot fake paycheck stubs by following the tips in this article.

How To Spot Fake Paycheck Stubs

1. Lack of professionalism

Look to see if the check stub appears professional. It’s rare for a real company to produce unprofessional documents that look fuzzy, contain spelling errors, or use strange fonts. Also, ensure that all the characters and decimal points are evenly lined up. A doctored pay stub could have text or figures that seem out of line with the rest of the information.

2. Round numbers

Are the applicant’s monthly earnings perfectly rounded to the nearest thousand? On the face of it, there may seem little difference between earning $3,000 and $2996.30. However, which figure seems more realistic? People rarely take-home paychecks with a round number.

3. Letters instead of numbers

It’s not uncommon for counterfeit paycheck stubs to use a capital O in place of a zero. The difference may be subtle, but it could be a sign that the stub is fake.

4. Fake stubs usually have inconsistencies

Legitimate pay stubs always contain consistent information. Check that all personal information—name, address, and social security number—matches other official documents the tenant provides. There also may be information listed in multiple places. It’s vital to ensure it all matches up.

5. The figures don’t add up

If you have suspicions about a counterfeit check stub, do the math to see if the figures match up. It should be easy to calculate earnings and deductions. However, if there are miscalculations, it could be a red flag.