MYOB Payslip Fraud Detection – Catch Fake AU Payroll PDFs
A real MYOB payslip can be edited and re-saved with a higher gross – and we catch the edit. Property managers in Sydney and Melbourne, lenders, and pre-employment screeners see MYOB payslips treated as the trusted standard. Most pass visual review without question. Applicants who know that fact edit the original and bump the gross – and we catch the edit regardless of which editor was used. The API also returns each file’s own dates, so a ‘January through June’ set produced in one sitting stands out.
HTPBE? analyzes the structural layer of the PDF file – the layer where edits leave traces, even ones invisible on the page. We catch tampering and re-saves of real MYOB payslips, and a payslip built from scratch in office software to look like MYOB is flagged for review rather than passed as an untouched original. We do NOT detect a genuine fresh MYOB export – even if the trial-account ‘employer’ behind it does not exist. For that case, pair HTPBE? with Open Banking income source-of-truth check or ABN lookups.
When HTPBE? returns INCONCLUSIVE on a MYOB payslip, that is a reason to escalate to manual review, not proof of fraud – it means HTPBE? cannot confirm the file as an untouched original.
The problem
Modern document fraud is invisible to visual review
A growing class of document fraud opens a genuine PDF, edits a balance, a date, or a beneficiary, and re-saves it. Visually nothing changes – the document passes pixel-level review, layout review, and KYC.
Structural PDF analysis reads the layers rendering engines never expose: revision history, object structure, signature coverage maps. That is where edits leave fingerprints they cannot wipe.
Common tampering patterns
- Modified balances or totals after export
- Swapped IBAN or beneficiary on invoices
- Post-signature edits on contracts
- Backdated issue and modification dates
- Fabricated documents from consumer PDF tools
What this looks like
How tampered and fabricated MYOB-style payslips actually look
Three real fraud mechanics we catch at the structural PDF layer.
Real MYOB export edited after download
Genuine MYOB payslip downloaded by an actual employee, opened in any PDF editor, gross bumped or deductions reduced, exported as PDF. HTPBE? flags the edit made after MYOB issued it.
Word/Excel-fabricated payslip mimicking MYOB layout
A payslip authored in Microsoft Word or Excel using a MYOB-style template lifted from screenshots and saved as PDF – never actually exported from MYOB. HTPBE? does not read the layout or the figures, so looking like MYOB earns the file nothing: with no sign of later editing it comes back INCONCLUSIVE, not INTACT, and goes to manual review. If the file carries evidence of editing or fabrication, the verdict is MODIFIED.
Batch of ‘monthly’ payslips created in one session
Six monthly payslips for January through June, all produced in a single sitting. Real monthly issuance produces files a month apart, and the dates the API returns for each file make the batch visible.
The scale
Why your existing checks miss this
STP shows real employers. Property managers cannot query STP.
And applicants who fabricated the employer would not pass an STP check anyway.
ATO Single Touch Payroll captures every legitimate Australian payroll submission – but private property managers, lettings agents, and lenders cannot query it on behalf of an applicant. Open Banking-style income source-of-truth check (Basiq, Frollo) works only when the applicant agrees to connect – fabricated-employer applicants rarely do. HTPBE? catches the MYOB payslip the applicant uploaded, regardless of whether STP or banking access is available – standalone, no MYOB API, no ATO lookup.
What HTPBE? checks
Detection capabilities
Deterministic structural signals. No probabilistic scores, no model training.
No pass for office-software lookalikes
A payslip saved as PDF from Word, Excel or LibreOffice does not come back INTACT, however closely it copies the MYOB layout. With no sign of later editing it returns INCONCLUSIVE for manual review; with evidence of editing or fabrication, MODIFIED.
Post-export edit detection
Editing a MYOB payslip in a PDF editor after export leaves structural evidence behind. HTPBE? flags it as MODIFIED, whichever editor was used.
Character overlay on the original
Changing a figure on an existing payslip leaves a structural trace. HTPBE? flags it without reading the page – it never looks at what the figures say.
Batch-produced sets
When multiple ‘monthly’ payslips arrive together, the API returns each file’s own dates. Real monthly issuance produces files a month apart; a set produced in one sitting stands out.
Dates that disagree
A ‘freshly issued’ payslip whose own dates show it was changed months later is a high-confidence flag for post-export editing.
Reworked payslips
HTPBE? detects documents reworked after their original creation and documents assembled from pages of different sources.
Share with engineering
Wire this into your intake pipeline in under a day
Two API calls – one POST to submit the PDF, one GET to retrieve the verdict. Forward this page to your engineering team; the full API reference, quotas, and copy-paste examples in cURL, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go, and Ruby are one click away.
Pricing
Self-serve plans, no sales call
All plans include the same forensic checks. Pick the quota that matches your monthly document volume.
manualStarter
30 credits/mo
Manual spot-checks and integration testing
most commonGrowth
350 credits/mo
Active document processing pipelines
high volumePro
1,500 credits/mo
High-volume automation and API integrations
Enterprise (unlimited, on-premise available) — see full pricing
API key on signup. Free test environment on every plan. No card required.
Customer Stories
Teams that stopped document fraud
Compliance, finance, and risk teams use HTPBE? to catch manipulated PDFs before they become costly mistakes.
Caught an invoice where the total had been changed by less than a thousand dollars. Without this I would have approved it without a second look.
Sarah M.
AP Manager
United States
We had three applicants in the same week with bank statements that looked completely fine. Two of them were flagged as modified. You simply cannot see this by reading the document — it is in the file structure.
Lars V.
Risk Analyst, Online Lending
Netherlands
Salary slips were coming with altered figures. We identified two problematic files before the placement was finalised.
Priya K.
HR Operations Lead
India
Since we started checking documents this way, we stopped two applications early in the process that would have been very difficult to reverse later.
Julien R.
Fraud Analyst, Fintech
France
Some applicants were sending PDFs that looked authentic but had been edited in ways not visible to the eye. We now ask for checked originals when something is flagged. Already saved us from a few bad decisions.
Marta S.
Compliance Coordinator
Spain
One invoice was caught because there was a mismatch between the document dates and structure. That particular case would have cost us significantly.
Tariq A.
Finance Manager
United Arab Emirates
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from STP-based income source-of-truth check?
What about a payslip issued for an employer that does not exist?
Will it correctly flag payslips made in Word that mimic MYOB layout?
inconclusive – not intact – however closely it copies the MYOB layout, and goes to manual review. HTPBE? checks the file’s structure, not what the payslip says or looks like. The verdict is modified when the file itself carries evidence of editing or fabrication.Does the API work on payslips from any AU payroll provider?
What does an INCONCLUSIVE verdict mean for a MYOB payslip?
status_reason says which. A payslip built in general-purpose office software to look like a MYOB payslip typically lands here. In the MYOB-payslip context, INCONCLUSIVE is a review trigger: it is not evidence of fraud, and it is not a pass. Route the case to Open Banking income source-of-truth check or ABN lookup before proceeding.Secure your workflow
Create your account – check PDFs on the web or with an API key, both ready on signup.
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