How to verify a bank statement from a rental applicant
Where edits usually show on a bank statement, and how to get a copy you can trust.Bank statements are easy to edit and hard to fake well. Here's where edits usually show, and how to get a copy you can trust.
Follow the balance from top to bottom
Every statement is a chain: the beginning balance, plus deposits, minus withdrawals, equals the ending balance. If the statement prints a running balance next to each transaction, each row's balance should equal the previous one plus that row's amount.
Someone who edits a deposit to make it bigger usually changes the number they care about and forgets the rest. The balance on the next line, or the ending balance, then stops adding up. Checking a dozen rows with a calculator is enough to see it.
Check the routing number
The 9-digit ABA routing number has a built-in checksum, and its first two digits name the Federal Reserve district. A number that fails the checksum can't belong to a real bank. A valid one confirms the format, not the account, so compare the bank name on the statement with the directory result.
Find the paycheck
If the applicant also sent a pay stub, its net pay should arrive as a deposit within a day or two of the pay date. Look at the description too: payroll deposits usually name the employer or a payroll company. A deposit of the right amount labeled as a transfer from a person is worth a question.
Get a copy straight from the bank
The strongest check is the simplest: ask the applicant to download the statement from their bank's website or app while you watch, or to open the account on their phone and show you the same month. A real statement looks the same both ways.
Ask every applicant who reaches this stage the same way. A statement that doesn't add up is a reason to ask for the original, not a reason on its own to deny an application.