How do I verify a bank statement is real?
Verifying a bank statement takes two separate checks: whether the file was edited, and whether the facts are true. HTPBE? answers the first. Editing a statement after the bank produced it usually leaves traces in the file. That is what HTPBE? flags as Modified.
The file check
- Intact — no structural evidence of editing was found. It is still not proof that the numbers are right.
- Modified — the file was changed after it was created. Do not rely on it.
- Inconclusive — the file’s origin can’t vouch for it, for example because it was produced in consumer software that anyone could use to create a statement from scratch. For a document that claims to be from a bank, that is itself a reason to ask for the original.
The fact check
HTPBE? does not read the statement. It does not confirm the account holder’s identity, the account number, the transactions or the balance. For that:
- Pull the statement directly from the bank, or ask the account holder to download it from online banking while you watch or through a channel you control.
- Confirm it with the bank itself where the stakes justify it.
- Check that the opening and closing balances and the transactions are consistent. That is a manual step; HTPBE? does not do it.
Order of work
- Get the PDF, not a screenshot.
- Run the file check.
- Send Modified and Inconclusive results to a reviewer or back to the issuer.
- Confirm the facts that matter to the decision with the bank.
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Verifying Specific Documents
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