How to Spot a Fake Payslip or Pay Stub PDF

Fake payslips are used to fake income for loans, tenancies, and visas. A forged pay stub can look convincing, but editing the PDF typically leaves structural and metadata traces. Upload the payslip to the free PDF Verified checker to surface those signals before you rely on it.

Verify a document free →

Drop your document here and sign it now. PDF, Word and Excel all work: a .docx or .xlsx is laid out in your browser exactly as it was written, so there is nothing to convert first. Add a signature, a date, a company stamp or a watermark, then download it sealed. Free to start, no account, and the file is never uploaded to open it.

Step by step

  1. Open the free checker at /verify.
  2. Upload the payslip or pay-stub PDF.
  3. The engine analyses structure, metadata and revision history.
  4. Review the flags as part of your affordability or onboarding checks.

What to look for

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to spot a fake payslip?

Yes. Upload the PDF to the PDF Verified checker and get a verdict for free, no account needed. The file is analysed and not shared.

Do I need the original to compare against?

No. If the document was sealed by PDF Verified, the SHA-256 fingerprint is embedded and checked automatically. For any other PDF, the forensic checker inspects the file's own structure, metadata, and revision history.

Is my document kept private?

The file is processed only to produce the verdict and is not published or shared. Verification of a PDF Verified document can also be done with just the QR code or short code, without uploading the file at all.

How do I verify a payslip is real?

Upload the payslip PDF to the free checker at /verify. It flags the signs of editing, appended revisions, re-encoded figures and a producer that doesn’t match a payroll system, and reports AI-origin signals, so you can judge whether the pay stub is genuine before relying on it.

What PDF Verified is, and what it is not

These checks are a screen, not a verdict. A clean result means nothing was found by the checks that were run, which is not the same as proof that a document is genuine, and a flagged result can have an innocent explanation such as a re-save or a scan. Read the findings rather than the headline, and where a decision carries real consequences, confirm the document with the party that issued it. It is a tool for examining a document, not for producing a forged or altered one.

PDF Verified is a tool for preparing, signing, stamping and checking documents. It is not a law firm, a compliance service or a forensic examiner, and nothing here is legal, financial or compliance advice. Requirements differ by country, by document type and by the party asking, so check what applies to your document before you rely on it, and take advice where the document matters. You are responsible for the documents you create, sign and send, and for having the authority to do so: signing or stamping in somebody else name, or as an organisation you do not represent, is forgery whatever tool is used. To the extent the law allows, we accept no liability for how a document made with this tool is used or relied on. The full position is in our terms of service.

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