
The first potential red flag involves the bank statement’s appearance. #1 – Look for inconsistencies on the bank statement

Here are three strategies to identify them. While not infallible, knowing what to look for can help property managers better spot fake bank statements and help avoid evictions, which can cost as much as $7,500 per case. That’s become more common during the pandemic. That increase in the number of undetected fraudulent applications can partly be attributed to the difficulty in detecting fraud when documents are submitted via online applications. One in 10 fraudulent applications used to go undetected. In fact, it’s worsened during the pandemic, according to Snappt’s “ 2020 Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Residential Rentals Survey.” The percentage of fraudulently altered applications has increased from 15% before the pandemic to 29% in September 2020. Unfortunately, the problem of rental applicants providing fake bank stubs hasn’t gone away in the years since those settled cases. “This action demonstrates the FTC’s determination to stop those who help people to commit identity theft and fraud.” How to fight fraudulent rental applications “The sale of fake documents makes it easy for identity thefts and scammers to ply their trade,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in the press release. One operator ran another website called that sold job verification services that would “confirm to anyone who asks” the customer’s hire date and hourly wage. Before agreeing to permanently shut down their businesses as part of separate settlements with the FTC, the companies were selling fake documents for between $20 and $150 each. People can use fake bank stubs to misrepresent their finances on residential rental applications and for other purposes.

These companies weren’t subtle on their websites, with proclamations like “Quality Authentic Fake Forms! Proven to Work!” antitrust laws, filed three separate cases alleging that three people and their companies sold customers fake pay stubs, fake bank statements and other fake financial documents, according to an FTC press release.

In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission, an agency that enforces civil U.S. Some companies even offer their services. Instructions on creating a fake bank statement are available web tutorials and step-by-step YouTube videos.
