Detecting Fake Payslips: How Can I Confirm If This Employee's Payslip Is Genuine?

I hope you can help. I have a serious doubt that a payslip submitted by an employee is fake. How can I determine this? I have attached the payslip. Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

Hello Jaffershere, looks like you are right. There's no PF deduction. Regarding the insurance, the full payment, actual payment, and deduction are the same. More important than these factors, there's no name, designation, or month for which salary is being paid — basic accounting info.

Regards, TS

Hoping that the accounting information (details of the candidate's employment) is mentioned in the salary slip, you can ask the candidate to submit the same with the company stamp and signature of the concerned HR. If it is computer-generated, it should be mentioned accordingly. Also, you can send the same for verification at his current company.

With regard to PF, possibly the candidate might have opted out. It is difficult to judge whether this is fake based on the upload in Excel.

Regards.

Please ask the employee to submit a 6-month bank statement if the salary is being credited to their bank account. Otherwise, you can send an email to the concerned HR department inquiring about the employee's background, where you can also inquire about the salary details.

Regards,
Nagaraj

As per your emailed salary slip, there is no company name mentioned. This lack of information makes it difficult for anyone to identify which company has issued this salary slip.

Thank you.

There is a possibility that since the basic salary is more than Rs. 6500, the employee may not be having PF deduction. Medical expenses are typically covered by companies up to a maximum limit of Rs. 15000 to provide tax benefits to the employee, i.e., Rs. 1250 per month or less depending on the tax slab corresponding to the employee's category. However, in this case, it is Rs. 1650, which raises a point of doubt.

Payslip Layout Concerns

The layout/format of the payslip is dubious. On the earnings side, it shows full and actual amounts, while on the deduction side, it only shows actual amounts. Normally, deductions cannot be categorized as part of the actual amount; they should be fully detailed. The presence of insurance on both the Earnings and Deduction sides raises questions about its double appearance.

Net Amount Presentation

In payslips, the Net Amount is generally presented in both figures and words. However, in this case, it is only in figures, which adds to the uncertainty.

Verification Steps

I would suggest that you call the candidate to your office and get all the components clarified. If he is able to answer, it means he is not cheating. Perform a reference check with the HR of the candidate's previous company. Additionally, you can request FORM NO 16 for further verification.

Firstly, payslips are usually in PDF format or downloaded from the employer's intranet/HRIS as an Excel spreadsheet, but these contain a lot of information pertaining to the employee. It is advisable to have them validated by an external agency such as Quest First Advantage or through a direct call/email to the issuing company. A 6-month bank statement and Form 16 would help establish facts.

Thank you,
Shashidhar

Hi all, thank you for the responses. Let me provide a little more detail about the payslip. It is actually computer-generated and is in PDF format. I have extracted only the salary breakdown and input it into an Excel file. I apologize for not mentioning this earlier.

I think this may be a fake payslip. I worked it out using different calculations, and it really confused me. There is no PF Deduction, Employee Code, Name, etc., in the payslip. Kindly confirm with the employer and ask the employee to submit the last 6 months' bank statements.

Regards,
J. Jerold Francis

All your points are very much valid except your statement regarding the NET PAY in words. Even in my payslip, which is an autogenerated PDF, it is only in figures. I asked the same to my HR Manager, and I got a reply that in India, there is no law to specify the format of the payslip. So I think there is no need to consider that.

Firstly, you have not provided the full information regarding whether there is information about the candidate, such as designation, working days, etc., and also the company name. If there is information available, you can simply contact the HR person of that company to verify the details.

Best regards,
Mayur Gupta

As I was going through the salary slip, I found the following faults:

1. No company name and address.
2. Basic is generally 40% of CTC.
3. HRA is 50% of Basic.
4. Insurance shouldn't be on both sides of the slip.
5. Missing details: PF number, employee code, department name, employee name, date of joining, etc.

In my view, it appears to be fake. I suggest contacting the employee in question to clarify the salary components listed in the attachment. Subsequently, you can directly discuss this matter with the HR of the company.

Many Thanks & Regards,
Charu Sharma

On the basis of the Excel sheet, it is difficult to determine if the salary slip is fake. Ask the employee to submit the offer letter or the salary slips from the last three months with the authorized signature of the HR or Director. Alternatively, request the bank statement.

The payslip does not appear to be fake. As the basic for PF is 6500, there is no need to deduct PF. In the case of insurance, the company may have opted out for some life insurance plan. So, all these factors do not matter much. If you need confirmation, you can contact the previous company for verification of the same.

With Regards,
S. Magesh

If the objective is to establish the correctness of the payslip, please check if it has been signed by a competent authority of the company. Secondly, ask the individual to obtain a certificate of the Last Pay Drawn from the previous employer.

Regards,
Munshi

I checked the payslip, and I believe you have cut the breakup part and pasted it into an Excel sheet. We can verify the payslip only by the calculations and the deductions part. If you see the IT on a lesser side, ask the candidate what all he/she has declared. You are not supposed to give the candidate the point for what you are asking this for.

In the attached payslip, the insurance appears in both the earnings and deductions sides. That is highly unlikely. Again, if you really want to verify a candidate's salary, you can ask for Form 16 if the candidate has more than 1 year of experience. On the other hand, a bank statement will suffice. Verification of the same before the candidate's offer is not recommended.

At first glance, the payslip seems fake. However, it would be better to ask the candidate to submit the bank statement of the last six months and an attested payslip by HR for at least two months.

Regards,
Man Mohan

It's simple. You should inform the employee that they need to bring the slip with the company seal or it should be on the letterhead of the company concerned. That's all; the matter is over. If it is a duplicate, they will run away from you, and if it is true, they will always come prepared with your requirements.

Thanks,
Ramani

Essential Details on a Payslip

Mention of the company name, employee name, PF A/C, Pension A/C, etc., is a must on a payslip. Such details are missing in this payslip.

Thank you.

Verifying the Authenticity of a Payslip

How can there be a payslip that does not bear the employer's name or at least a stamp? Contact the previous employer to verify.

Verifying the Authenticity of Payslips

Some companies might pay only in cash, which can lead employees to create their own payslips. Alternatively, they might fabricate payslips to reflect a higher salary.

It's advisable to request a six-month bank statement and contact the previous employer to confirm the individual's employment.

Hi, Jaffe,
This payslip is fake. There are so many reasons. Kindly ask him to submit the last three months' payslip in the original format.

Regards,
Joy Besariya

It's not a salary slip but an extract. The clarification has been given (inside the thread) that this salary slip was originally in PDF format. However, the member posting this query has only taken the relevant portions, omitting the employee's name, company, and other particulars from the salary slip. Then, he has put it in an Excel sheet.

It is surprising that some members are still giving their verdict on the condition that the purported pay slip does not contain these particulars. I urge everyone to go through the complete thread before giving their opinion.

Regards.

Understanding Salary Policies and Verification

Every company has a salary policy that includes basic VDA, DA, conveyance, computer, and many other allowances, which are paid according to company norms. There are also deductions. You can search through the respective attendance register and verify their salary slips to ensure they are accurate based on their attendance. It is essential to verify their employee ID, provided by your company, to reduce the stress of identifying fake payslips.

Best of luck,

Regards