Document fraud patterns and how to verify

Advisers are expected to take reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that documents are genuine. "The client gave it to me" is not a defence if the fabrication was obvious. Build a standard verification routine and apply it to every file.

The documents most often fabricated

• Bank statements — altered balances, invented transaction lines, mismatched fonts or spacing, running balances that do not add up, a "closing balance" that does not follow from the last transaction.
• Employment letters — round numbers, no letterhead detail, a signatory with no title, salary that does not match tax or social-security records, a company with no verifiable existence.
• Education documents — transcripts with impossible grade distributions, degrees from institutions not on any recognised register, notarisation stamps that do not correspond to a real notary.
• Relationship evidence — photos with inconsistent metadata, "chat histories" that are re-typed rather than exported.

A basic routine

1. Cross-check every claim against an independent document (bank letter vs statement vs tax record; employment letter vs payslips vs tax filing).
2. Verify the issuer exists — company registry, institution register, professional body.
3. Look at the document itself: consistent formatting, arithmetic that works, dates that are possible, contact details that resolve.
4. Where stakes are high, contact the issuer directly using details you found independently, not the ones on the document.

When something fails the check

Raise it with the client plainly. If they cannot explain it and cannot produce a genuine version, do not file it — and reconsider the retainer. Record what you found and what you did.