The most secure PDF files can prevent users from editing a document, combining multiple files, extracting pages, copying text, and even printing the files. Although this security feature is almost never used, one wonders why a financial institution would want to prevent users from printing bank statements. Someone with access to printed bank statements could simply scan them in PDF format and convert them to text, essentially eliminating all the security features applied to the original electronic file. The creator of the PDF can implement password protection, but in the end, this protection can be broken. Potential tenants, bank account openings, and other bad actors can use fake bank statements to commit a range of illegal activities. As scammers get smarter, they also use technology to create near-perfect bank statements. Manual verification methods cannot follow the standards of bad actors. The identification of false bank statements is on the agenda to reduce fraud as much as possible. There are some common methods that can be used to identify fake bank statements. The borrower usually provides the bank or mortgage company with two of the most recent bank statements in which the company contacts the borrower`s bank to verify the information. The best way to detect fraud is to use AI-powered software.
Artificial intelligence uses advanced algorithms that use millions of data points to examine every aspect of a submitted document, from margins to metadata. When combined with the ML, the software is adaptive, meaning it becomes more accurate and precise over time as the model is exposed to more and more examples. This evolving component of technology is crucial as criminals continue to find new ways to document fake bank accounts. Peter S. Davis, CPA, ABV, SBB, CIRA, CTP, CFE, is Managing Director of J.S. Held`s Corporate Finance practice. He has been a receiver in regulatory matters filed by the SEC, FTC, Arizona Corporation Commission, Arizona State Board of Education, as well as lenders and shareholders. His areas of expertise include understanding and interpreting complex financial data, detecting and deterring fraud, and identifying damage.
Peter has testified with experts in numerous federal, bankruptcy and state cases. Lenders have the discretion to request your bank statements or request VOD from your bank; Some lenders do both. Lenders who use both ETVs and bank statements to determine eligibility for a mortgage do so to meet the requirements of certain government-insured loans, where the source of the down payment for mortgage approval must be known. While most banks provide a paper copy of the bank statement in the mail, many financial institutions now offer digital bank statements via email and even allow the account holder to become “paperless” and refuse delivery of the mail. For digital files, the declaration is delivered in a non-editable format, such as a PDF. While you can rely on manual verification methods for many things, they still have some limitations. Using technology, you can easily distinguish between fake and real documents. DIRO`s bank document verification software instantly verifies documents and provides solid proof of verification, backed by verifiable credentials. DIRO`s online document verification tool can verify more than 7000 documents from around the world by referencing document data from an original web source. In these cases, we recommend that reviewers perform a direct comparison between the sample file and an authenticated file to validate applications from new customers. This allows the reviewer to quickly identify inconsistencies in document formatting, bank logo, document components, and transaction details.
Reviewers can also look for these common errors in fraudulent documents: While it may not be technically illegal to create novelty documents, using a false bank proclamation to obtain a mortgage, credit card, personal loan, or PPP advances is a crime that can be punished with fines, probation, or even jail time. In recent years, government agencies, particularly in the United States and the European Union, have taken steps to crack down on fake document production networks. However, a quick search on the internet shows that many are still in business today. A common mistake scammers make is that they don`t go to great lengths to make sure all the numbers on bank statements add up.