False Pay Slip: 7 checks to spot fraudsters

La fake pay slip fraud is a growing challenge that can have serious consequences for fraudsters as well as for their victims. This involves falsifying a payslip to obtain undue benefits and benefits. Especially frequent in renting real estate, applying for credit and assistance, this fraud is spreading more and more. Throughout this article, we'll show you various techniques to detect fraud attempts and reduce your exposure. Happy reading!

False pay slip fraud: Background and explanations

False pay slip fraud is a growing challenge in today's economic landscape. This type of falsification has developed over the course of technological developments and commercial practices. It is a deceptive practice that involves manipulation or tampering a pay slip to obtain undue benefits. By exploring fake payslip fraud, you will be in a better position to identify any exposure to potential risks. In this section, we will explore the context associated with this type of fraud. We will look at the motivations behind its use, as well as the methods provided by new technologies.

A study of common use cases

The use of a fake pay slip may stem from a variety of motivations. The common thread combining these objectives is generally the search for fraudulent financial advantages. Let's take a detailed look at the multiple use cases associated with this type of fraud.

Real estate rental fraud

Les fake rental records are one of the most common cases when it comes to using a fake pay slip. These can be used to deceive property owners or managers. Potential renters will seek to inflate their income to get a home for which they are not eligible. By presenting a false pay slip, they increase their chances of being selected over other rental files. Such a practice is not equitable and increases the risk for homeowners. Indeed, the risk of unpaid rent is multiplied.

Fraudulent obtaining of loans or credits

Obtaining loans or credits is another use case for a fake paycheck. The falsification of the document, by increasing the salary amounts and the accruals over the year, makes it possible to increase borrowing capacity and so to get a loan.Another type of fraud is here, too, possible:impersonation. Some scammers change the personal information on a payslip to make their loan.

Undue receipt of social or government assistance

Some workers or social assistance applicants may be trying to falsify their pay slips. This would allow them to claim benefits and government benefits that they do not have access to with their income level.

And many others...

In short, all services that require salary verification are exposed to this type of fraud. We have studied frequent cases here, but there are an undetermined number of cases. Especially since new technologies have allowed everyone to create fraudulent documents, this is what we are going to see now.

The role of new technologies

The role of new technologies in this type of fraud is significant. They offer increased possibilities in handling documents and create additional challenges for their detection.

Text and image processing

The tools of image processing now make it possible to bypass many obstacles to the creation of a fraudulent payslip. Using these tools makes it possible to create fakes that are visually convincing and difficult to detect.

Artificial intelligence and deep fakes

With the development of AI and deepfakes, the quality of fraudulent documents becomes even more precise, almost undetectable. It is then necessary to compare the data with other sources to ensuregenuineness of a document.

7 categories of checks to identify a fake pay slip

So how to identify a fake pay slip is the question we are asking ourselves. At Datakeen, we are experts in fraud detection and we share 7 techniques (that we use) to do this.As an introduction: Let us reaffirm here that the pay slip is very easy to counterfeit. It may even be created from scratch. To ensure its authenticity, it is absolutely necessary to verify each piece of information.

Verify identity to detect attempted impersonation

You need to start by checking the identity information in order to link the pay slip to a official document (much more complex to counterfeit). Whether this is done in person or through a tool from online identity verification, this step is essential. It allows you to prevent a customer from usurping another person's payslip. It is also the time to obtain valid information about your client, such as address, gender, date of birth, etc. This information will be useful for you to carry out a thorough check. Indeed, they allow you to verify that the social security number be correct:

• 1st number: 1 for a man, 2 for a woman
• 2nd and 3rd digits: The end of the birth year (1999 = 99)
• 4th and 5th numbers: The month of birth (03 = March)
• 6th and 7th numbers: The number of the birth department (01 = Ain)

Spot a fake payslip with financial information

The control of the consistency of financial information is then recommended. The pay slip is the result of numerous calculations between gross salary, net salary, expenses, etc. All these calculations are fairly well known but fraudsters can make mistakes, or not take the time to do them again. We therefore recommend that you get started. Here are some calculations to check the payslip:

• Net income before taxes = Gross income - Social security contributions
• Net income payable = Net income before taxes - Income tax

Also check that the Cumulative salaries is well up and consistent from one report card to the next.

The tax notice can be useful for you to detect a false pay slip

The customer's tax notice may also be useful to you. This allows you to verify the information using a third-party document. The effort required to falsify both documents is much greater. It is in fact necessary to make changes to one, as well as to the other, and to match the information. In addition, the tax notice can be checked on the Government site, as well as thanks to his 2D-doc.

Recounting vacation days to identify a false pay slip

The Accumulation of vacation days over the months can easily be forgotten when you falsify the amounts on a pay slip. So check that they increase by 2.5 days per month. An easy check that will allow you to eliminate all files that do not respect this rule.

Verify the existence of the online business

Many fraudsters use fictional businesses to create a fake pay slip. So check that the associated company exists and is still active. Check the address of this one, as well as the correspondence of his SIRET number.

Look for mandatory information to identify counterfeit pay slips

Some legal notices are mandatory on the pay slip. These should definitely appear. However, some fraudsters accidentally make them disappear when they change the information. Make sure they are present:

• About the employer: Name or denomination, address, SIREN, APE or NAF code, applicable collective agreement

• On the employee: Name, first name, address, social security number, social security number, job, position, salary coefficient

• About compensation: Period of the pay slip, basis for calculating the salary, amount received by the employee, amount received by the employee, overtime, benefits (meal tickets, accommodation, transport), paid leave taken during the period (with their date and the associated amount), date of payment of the salary
• About membership fees: Amounts related to health, retirement, social assistance, unemployment insurance, as well as CSG and CRDS
• 2 very specific sentences: “keep this pay slip for no time limit”; “consult the dedicated section on the site www.servicepublic.fr”

Check the average salary for the specified profession

In order to check whether the salary indicated is justified, we advise you to refer to the reference salaries indicated by INSEE. Such a check will allow you to quickly identify pay slips that stand out from the crowd. You can then go deeper into the Suspicious files.

The risks involved in using a false pay slip

Falsifying a pay slip exposes you to considerable risks that extend well beyond the direct benefits. According to the Criminal Code, the use of a false pay slip is an offense punishable by 3 years in prison and 45,000 euros in fines. Although some may be tempted by this practice to obtain credit or housing, the consequences can be severe. However, the number of fraudulent files is only increasing, so it is necessary for professionals to authenticate each document accurately.