Information Contained on Legitimate Pay Stubs

We are now working in an environment where just about anything can be obtained or created online, including fake pay stubs. We all recognize that pay stubs are the primary form of verification for employment income. However, I’ve been noticing a growing profusion of online services that are selling fake pay stubs to people. This makes careful examination of the stubs critical in determining whether to conduct more due diligence as part of the income review process. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when looking at pay stubs: 

1. Don’t miss the details, such as verifying that the name, address, and social security number on the stub matches the information provided on the application.
2. Verify that the employer information matches what is on the stub. Online printers that make fake pay stubs typically fill in the blanks with generic information, and the applicant may have forgotten to replace the data or made a mistake when adding that information.
3. If the stub is highly detailed, verify that the marital status and number of dependents also match the application.
4. Look at the quality of the stub. The quality of a fake pay stub is only as good as the equipment on which it is printed. While we are not seeing the originals, you should be able to tell if the paper is faded, which may indicate that it was printed on a low-quality printer.
5. Watch for lines or fonts that don’t match up properly. This could indicate that the person typed the information on a separate piece of paper and then taped it to the real stub.
6. Look at the check numbers of the stubs. If the paycheck was issued by a small business with few employees, the sequence of numbers should not increase by hundreds of numbers every two weeks.
7. Determine whether the payment was made via direct deposit. If so, recommend that management obtain verification of the bank account to which the deposits are made to make sure the deposits match what is shown on the stub.
8. Compare earnings – most stubs show both current and year-to-date earnings. You guys already do a good job at looking at this information, but fake stubs often show conflicting information. If there is a significant disconnect between periodic pay and YTD, it could indicate a fake stub.
9. Each pay stub must contain certain information, including hours worked, money earned, wages paid, deductions, pay rate, gross wages, and start and end dates for the pay period. The following information will also almost always be included:
   1. Name and address of the employer; and
   2. Last four digits of the employee’s social security number or an employee ID number.

Now that pay stubs are the primary method for verifying employment income, it is important that managers be proficient in recognizing the legitimacy of payroll documents.