The Growing Issue of Fake Paystubs When Applying to Rent an Apartment

In today's hot rental market, it is not uncommon for tenants to go to great lengths to secure the apartment of their dreams. One troubling trend Del Val Realty & Property Management (Del Val) is seeing is the submission of fake paystubs by prospective renters. This deceitful practice not only jeopardizes our reputation but also puts our owners at risk of significant financial loss.

The Problem: 

Fake paystubs are forged documents that prospective tenants use to misrepresent their income and employment status when applying to rent an apartment. With the rise of digital technology, it has become increasingly easy to produce realistic-looking paystubs that can fool even the most experienced property owners. As a result, unscrupulous individuals have seized this opportunity to secure rental properties that they may not be able to afford or are otherwise unqualified for.

As an example, see the below paystub we received this week. This paycheck looks very real and is the exact format that ADP uses on their checks. At first glance you would think this is a real paystub. But as it turns out it is a fake paystub we caught through our rental application and screening process.

The Solution:

Del Val uses a service called Docuverus to verify documents.   The Docuverus platform runs verification where they  can quickly and accurately authenticate documents, verify ID, and verify and auto-calculate income. 

The Docuverus service scans and reviews all paystubs to determine if they are real or fake. To perform this service the paystubs must be in PDF format versus a photo. This is why Del Val requires all paystubs to be in PDF format so they can be scanned and verified as real or fake.  We do get some pushback from prospects on this issues. We have even had a couple applicants walk because they could not comply.   But in  the end it is job to spot and reject fake paystubs to protect our reputation and our clients money.  

Over the last couple of months, we have caught 5 or 6 fake paystubs from applicants. And it does seem this is becoming more common. Del Val feels this is a critical element of our tenant screening process and be sure we will continue to fight this rising issue.