You may find it hard to believe, but faking a stub is not tricky. Individuals can fake it at home or use a website to generate an employee stub. Surprisingly, it is not an illegal act to submit a fake stub. However, using the fake stub as proof of income is illegal to get a loan or acquire a property.
Fake employee paystub are usually generated by freelancers who do not have proof of their regular income. The freelancers will enter the relevant information that does not create legal complications in the future. Unfortunately, the bank cannot verify the action.
An employee stub does not require a QR code to authenticate the action. Therefore, search for typical mistakes that are often overlooked. Here are a few techniques to identify fake paystubs:
Identify A Fake Pay Stub
Misplaced Zero
A fake employee stub will attempt to fake a figure to appear accurate. Most of the time, zero is replaced by the alphabet O because they look similar. However, the reader can spot the difference with a close eye. It is impossible that a genuine place of work or a registered error will make such a mistake. Therefore, the misrepresented zero will instantly alarm you that the employee stub is fabricated.
Rounded figures
An employee pay stub will have numerous deductions, such as tax and insurance. These are exact calculations directly applicable to the employee’s gross income. As a result, the probability of an employee receiving a net income of exactly $3000 or $2000 is an anomaly. If the employee pay stub shows an exact figure, you may want to rethink its authenticity.
Miscalculations
One of the ways to check if the paystub is fake is by doing the calculations yourself. Trust is established when an individual performs the math. The employee stub is fake, assuming the net pay or the conclusive figure is inaccurate. On the other hand, there is a computing error. Therefore, the receiver must consult the HR and accounting departments instantly.
The reader is advised to observe the calculations involving tax, dedications, and bonuses. Misrepresented figures may signal corporate fraud or other incompliances.
Omitted information
An apparent difference between a genuine and fake employee stub is misinformation in the category. Did you notice that vital information is missing from the script? A genuinely created employee staff will mention information such as gross pay, net pay deductions name, and Social Security number. Assuming a pay step is missing any of the earlier-mentioned components, it is either fabricated or generated with malicious content.
Ill-formatted stub
A paystub can look ill-constructed as well. The appearance may be unprofessional. The font is unreadable, or the text is poorly created. Furthermore, incohesive formatting is a clear indicator of fake employee stubs. Therefore, one must assess the format to analyze the employee stub.
A legitimately created pay stub will not have the following attributes
- Mismatched fonts
- Misplaced margin alignments
- Unreadable/blurry texts
The Bottom Line
Understanding the difference between a genuine and a fabricated pay stub will prevent future legal complications. It can make acquiring properties or getting a loan a lot easier. Unfortunately, a fake employee stub can result in denied income and strained relationships with the employee. Therefore, due diligence is advised for improved results.
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