In today’s digital age, the ease of creating fake bank statements has reached unprecedented levels. This alarming trend has left numerous companies in the business of lending vulnerable to the schemes of fraudsters and criminal enterprises.
In 2022 alone, around 70% of financial institutions lost over $500,000 to fraud. Has your business been affected too, or are you looking for solutions to protect yourself? Then you’ve come to the right place.
In this blog, we will go through the telltale signs to look out for when it comes to spotting a fake bank statement and take you through the benefits of automating your bank statement verification process. Read on!
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How can Businesses Spot Fake Bank Statements?
Spotting fake bank statements is one of the key steps to protecting your business from fraud and maintaining financial security. Not only that, but letting forged documents go unnoticed puts you in serious violation of KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations. So what can your business do to avoid bank statement fraud?
- Verify the source: As a business, you’re able to validate the authenticity of a bank statement by directly contacting the issuing financial institution. This can be done by using verified contact information obtained from official sources, such as the bank’s official website or phone numbers listed on legitimate documents.
- Cross-reference with original records: You can compare the bank statement with internal or external records, such as transaction receipts or digital banking records. Discrepancies between the two can indicate potential fraud or manipulation.
- Look for security features: Genuine bank statements often contain security features that are difficult to replicate, such as watermarks, holograms, or specific patterns on the paper. By examining these features, you can determine how authentic a bank statement is.
Signs of Altered Bank Statements
Now that you know what strategies to use, let’s dive deeper. As promised, we’re going to let you in on a secret. There are some dead giveaways to look out for when examining the authenticity of a bank statement. Intrigued? Here are the top 6 red flags to look out for:
- Inconsistent Font Types: Fake bank statements may have variations in font types within the same document, suggesting that certain sections have been tampered with or manipulated.
- Inconsistent Font Sizes: Inconsistencies in font sizes throughout a bank statement can indicate that specific information has been altered or added. A genuine document would typically maintain a consistent font size throughout the document.
- Round Numbers: Altered or fake bank statements often feature round numbers (e.g., $10,000) instead of more typical transaction amounts, as fraudsters tend to simplify or manipulate figures to make them appear more convincing.
- Typographical Errors: Frequent typographical errors, such as misspelled words or misplaced punctuation, can be indicative of an altered bank statement, as the fraudulent changes may not have been meticulously proofread.
- Incorrect Totals: Altered or fake bank statements may include incorrect totals, such as the sum of transactions or the final balance, which deviate from what would be expected based on legitimate banking activities. These discrepancies should also raise suspicion.
- Unrealistic Numbers: Some figures are more realistic than others. Excessive zeros added to certain transaction amounts or balances can be a red flag. Unrealistic numbers, such as a transaction of $1,000,000 instead of $1,000, may signal fraudulent modifications and may require a second look.
AI-driven Bank Statement Verification for Businesses
So far, we’ve given you a thorough rundown of how to spot a fake bank statement. But can you guarantee that you can spot an attempt at faking a bank statement with a naked eye?
The reality is, to rely simply on manual bank statement verification can prove to be detrimental to your business as human beings are prone to error. This is especially true if you have a large quantity of documents to process.
So, how can you verify bank statements without spending hours on manual checks and still getting it wrong? Well, we’d like to welcome you to the world of AI-powered automation. We will now introduced you to AI-technologies that can aid you in your bank statement verification processes.
- Bank Statement OCR (Optical Character Recognition): With OCR technology, you can accurately extract data from bank statements, ensuring fast and reliable information retrieval.
- EXIF Data Analysis: AI-driven algorithms can be trained to scan and analyze the EXIF data (Exchangeable Image File Format), to detect if a document has been altered with various photo and document editing software. This option enables you to spot potential fake bank statements with much greater precision.
- Bank statement verification with Intelligent Document Processing Software: Intelligent document processing software uses OCR to extract data from bank statements to validate them against predetermined rules and cross check with existing data sources. Using machine learning algorithms to examine transaction patterns, the software is able to find abnormalities and possible fraud.
Sounds impressive, right? Let’s tell find out why!
Well, using AI-powered software to automate the process of document verification is arguably the best solution for detecting fake bank statements.
Spot Fake Bank Statements Seamlessly with Klippa DocHorizon
So, are you ready to embrace AI and get rid of the mind bending manual steps in the process? Have we got news! With Klippa DocHorizon, you can leverage advanced AI-powered technology like OCR and Intelligent Document Processing technology to help you combat the rise of fake bank statements.
Best of all, the long-run benefits of Klippa DocHorizon brings you are undeniable. Some of these include:
- Save time: Embrace automated data entry, powered by Klippa’s OCR technology andeliminate manual input and save valuable time.
- Save money: Improved efficiency to save money on operational costs.
- Improve onboarding experiences: Seamlessly onboard customers and employees within seconds.
- Minimize fraud: Curtail fraudulent documents and protect your business from fraud.
- Enhance compliance: Ensure compliance with industry regulations and avoid fines.
- Seamless integration: Integrate Klippa DocHorizon via API and SDK.
Curious to find out how Klippa’s automated bank statement verification solution can help? Book a free online demo below!
