In the last couple of decades, technology has experienced much improvement. Nowadays, we use technology that our ancestors couldn’t even dream about. Of course, it comes with a set of advantages and setbacks at the same time. One of the biggest advantages is that we can perform a check on any information placed in front of us.
One of the commonest misuses we can see is that the potential tenants can fake crucial information on their rental applications. There are many reasons why people would want to do it. Sadly, we can see that every person can find a website that serves as a paystub generator. The whole process is now much easier than it has ever been. There are only two requirements, the person needs only a couple of minutes and $5 to perform it.
The person interested in something like this can just access these and insert any information it wants. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot protect yourself from these scams. You’ll be happy to know that there are a couple of ways you can see the difference between a real and fake paystub. Let’s take a look at these.
1. The Lack of Basic Information
The first thing that every person needs to do when looking at a paystub is to check if all the basic information is there. If it lacks information like name, last name, occupation, address, and other common data, you can presume that there is something wrong with it. The reason is that fake pay stubs are generated in the form of the template and some of the old data may be still on it
Plus, it wouldn’t hurt you to take a look at some other factors like spelling mistakes. If there are some of these, you have a reason to be a little bit suspicious. Why is that? Well, the professional accountant would make sure that there aren’t any of these before the paper is sent. All of these reasons tell us just how important it is to check these pieces of information since they can be an indicator that something is not right.
2. “O” and “0”
We’ve said just how small mistakes can indicate some danger about paystub. The biggest indicator is that sometimes there’s no clear difference between “O” and “0”. While this looks like a pretty banal, believe us, this is something that makes the difference. Of course, there a clear distinction between these two, but it can be easily overlooked while examination. Scammers don’t pay too much to these, and this is the reason why this happens pretty often.
3. Request a W-2 Form
Now, we would like to talk about the W-2 form. Why is this form significant? Well, it can help you offer you the possibility to see the difference between real and fake check stubs. It consists of a person’s gross earnings, taxes, and potential deductions. The reason why this is important is that it’s almost impossible to fabricate it. So, ask for one, and if the person wouldn’t provide you with it for some reason, this is a red flag.
4. Bad Formatting
In case you have experience with handling real pay stubs, then you know how this paper looks like and how much it should weigh. Accountants focus on making a clear paystub that doesn’t leave its user with any kind of uncertainties. If you have a hard time reading the information through improper printing or formatting.
If this is something that you encounter, you should be on your guard. We are talking about one of the biggest pointers, without a doubt. But, before you jump to any conclusions, be sure to ask a couple of questions to the person that gave you this paystub. While mistakes can happen even to the best accountant, chances are that you are looking at a fake document.
5. Check for Round Numbers
One of the things that are simply not characteristic of a paystub is a round number. For example, it’s simply not common that a person would be paid out in a round number. Especially in the case when there’s some tax deduction. Whenever you encounter a paystub that shows amounts like $500, $1,000, $2,000, or $3,000, you will need to think carefully about how proper it is.
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6. Unprofessional Appearance
Without a doubt, professional documents need to appear professional. Otherwise, this is something that indicates a possible problem with it. At the same time, there are some traits characteristics for a certain type of document. When talking about a paystub, you should avoid accepting the one that has alignment issues, shadowy text, and a unique font category.
7. Improper or Unreliable Information
When you encounter a paystub that doesn’t have the much-needed consistency or it has some incorrect information, this is a clear sign that you are looking at the forged document. One of the commonest inconsistencies you can stumble across is paystub showing yearly gross is lesser than annual net pay. Furthermore, be sure to take a look at the math. If it is incorrect, you are looking at a fake document.
8. Call the Employer
Many people don’t understand that employment verifications and fake check stubs go hand-in-hand. So, be sure to call the employer and ask for this piece of information. If the employer rejects to provide you with it, you have the right to be suspicious of a scam. Chances are that the contact you are given is a fake one.
Summary
As you can see, there are a lot of ways that you can determine the accuracy of paystubs. While most of them sound pretty obvious, we can see that people often overlook them for some reason. When that happens, they are at risk of being scammed by the person that provides the document to them, which they certainly don’t want. So, remember to examine the document thoroughly and if there are some irregularities, you will find out about them.
