The Rise of Fake Pay Stubs

You’ve worked hard to build something real. Don’t let a forged document undermine it.

At PropertyCraft, we partner with owners who care deeply about their properties and the people who live in them. But we’re also realists. And right now, one of the fastest-growing threats to owner success isn’t maintenance, market shifts, or taxes.

It’s fake pay stubs.

From Boston to Atlanta, more and more applicants are submitting forged income documents to secure leases they may not be able, or intend, to afford. In Massachusetts alone, there have been high-profile cases of “professional tenants” using fraudulent pay stubs to bounce from rental to rental, leaving landlords unpaid and tied up in legal battles for months1.

If that sounds alarming, it is. But there’s good news: with a proactive, emotionally intelligent management approach, you can stay protected.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Whether you’re transitioning out of self-management or preparing your building for a generational hand-off, you’ve likely invested years of your life into your property. For many, this is the nest egg. The legacy. The reward for years of hustle. But in today’s rental market, even one fraudulent tenant can compromise cash flow, consume your time and attention, degrade your property, or create family conflict if ownership is shared. Worse, bad actors know how to exploit legal system delays. In Massachusetts, where eviction timelines are long and tenant protections are strong, one dishonest applicant can quickly become a long-term financial drain12.

At PropertyCraft, we don’t just place tenants. We curate resident relationships. Our meticulous screening process, backed by fraud-detection experience and diligence, helps you avoid painful mistakes before they ever start.

Why Fake Pay Stubs Are on the Rise

Tenant screening used to be simpler. But technology has changed the game.

With just a few clicks, applicants can now:

• Download convincing pay stubs from websites like PayStubs.net or RealCheckStubs.com3

• Edit W-2s, tax forms, or even bank statements using free PDF tools or apps

• Watch TikTok tutorials that walk them through step-by-step fraud tactics4

Combine that with rising rents, tighter qualification criteria, and economic pressure, and you’ve got a perfect storm. A 2024 survey by the National Multifamily Housing Council found that 85 percent of property managers had encountered falsified income documentation, and 75 percent listed fake pay stubs as the number one fraud issue they face2.

The Risks for Self-Managing Owners

If you’re still managing your property on your own, here’s the hard truth: you are more vulnerable to application fraud. Scammers often target independent owners because they may not have formal verification systems, may not cross-check bank deposits or call employers, and are often juggling too many responsibilities to catch subtle red flags. Professional-looking stubs can be made in minutes. Even references are sometimes staged with friends or fake businesses5.

Red Flags to Watch For

Common indicators of fraudulent pay stubs include:

• Even, round income figures (real pay is rarely exact)

• Missing or incorrect tax deductions such as Social Security (6.2 percent) or Medicare (1.45 percent)6

• Blurry logos, mismatched fonts, or unusual formatting

• Pay periods that don’t match real payroll schedules

• No correlating deposits in the applicant’s bank statements6

Year-to-date totals that don’t add up are another common giveaway. If a pay stub was created using Photoshop or an online generator, metadata analysis often reveals it6.

How to Prevent the Problem Before It Starts

You can’t stop rental fraud from existing, but you can prevent it from entering your building. Here’s how we help owners stay ahead:

• Dual verification: We request both pay stubs and bank deposits. If the deposits aren’t there, the income may not be real2.

• Independent reference checks: We contact employers and landlords using verified public contact information, not applicant-provided numbers1.

• Personal interviews: We speak with applicants to uncover inconsistencies and get a sense of their reliability and communication style.

• Lease clauses addressing fraud: Our leases state that falsified documentation is a material breach, protecting owners if fraud is uncovered after move-in2.

• Screening with integrity: We don’t just check boxes. We protect your legacy.

Secure the Property. Protect the Legacy.

If you’re managing a property alone or considering a switch from your current provider, this is the time to reassess. The tools to detect fake income are available, but they only work if you use them before the lease is signed.

At PropertyCraft, we’ve helped owners just like you:

• Navigate tenant screening with confidence

• Transition out of daily management

• Protect their properties from fraud and financial loss

• Free up time for family, career, and life outside real estate

Tenant fraud is real, but you don’t have to face it alone. Partnering with us means having a trusted advisor at your side, one who combines expertise with care to protect your property and your goals.

Footnotes

1. Moneywise – Boston ‘professional tenants’ face 50-plus charges in rental fraud case (Aug 2025) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

2. Multifamily Dive – How to Combat Pay Stub Fraud (July 2024) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

3. MassLandlords.net – Fake Pay Stubs: The Easiest Proof of Income You Never Want to See (Apr 2023) ↩

4. Findigs.com – Fake Rental Applications: Here’s Why It’s Getting Harder (Feb 2025) ↩

5. American Apartment Owners Association – Warning: Application Fraud Is on the Rise (Dec 2023) ↩

6. LeaseRunner – How to Spot a Fake Pay Stub: A Landlord’s Guide to Income Verification (2023) ↩ ↩2 ↩3