Orlando Pay Stub Verification: How to Spot Fake Pay Stubs and Employment Fraud in Rental Applications

Executive summary

Employment and income verification is the “make-or-break” control point in screening because the most common rental losses don’t come from people with bad intentions—they come from people who simply cannot sustain rent when hours drop, seasonal work ends, or documents are overstated. Rental application fraud (including altered documentation) has been a growing concern for housing providers and property managers, and reputable screening vendors have published research and guidance on the trend. [1]

This blog is built for investor landlords of single-family homes. It focuses on how to verify pay stubs and employment in Orlando/Central Florida using a repeatable workflow that balances three priorities:

Profit protection: avoid vacancy + eviction + damages caused by income instability or falsified documents. [2]
Speed: keep screening fast enough to sign strong tenants before they move on (target: 7–14 days for full verification when escalation is needed). [3]
Compliance: comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair Housing protections, including Florida’s fair housing statute. [4]

Assumptions (since you didn’t specify otherwise): you’re screening for long-term rentals (not short-term), you use a consistent income standard (commonly “2–3x rent” as a market norm), and you’re open to using third-party screening tools when the application raises fraud risk. [5]

Why employment verification matters in Orlando single-family rentals

Income “looks stable” until it isn’t—and Orlando has real volatility pockets

Orlando’s labor market is diversified, but it still has a meaningful footprint of leisure and hospitality—an industry where hours can fluctuate, seasonal scheduling is real, and tip income can complicate pay documentation. [6]

Two local drivers landlords routinely see in applicant files:

Student and near-student workforce dynamics: University of Central Florida[7] enrolls more than 70,000 students, influencing local part-time employment and roommate / household income stacking. [8]
Theme-park–adjacent hiring cycles and variable schedules: Walt Disney World Resort[9] posts many roles (including part-time) in the region, and related tourism employment can swing with demand. [10]

This matters because employment fraud tends to exploit exactly these “normal” conditions: variable hours, multiple jobs, contractor arrangements, and recent job changes.

Fraud is increasingly document-driven

Industry fraud research and landlord-facing guidance increasingly focus on altered documents and the need for layered verification rather than trusting uploads at face value. TransUnion[11] has reported increased fraud indicators in rental applications and has continued publishing guidance on online rental fraud and altered documentation risks. [12]

Experian[13] has also published landlord-focused guidance that specifically calls out income and employment verification solutions as a way to reduce “guesswork” when pay stubs may be unreliable. [14]

The investor takeaway is simple: you don’t need to become a forensic accountant, but you do need a structured escalation path that moves from low-friction checks to higher-assurance verification when risk appears.

How pay-stub and employment fraud actually works

Fraud generally falls into four buckets. The operational difference is important because each bucket requires a different verification move.

Fabricated employers and “friendly verifiers”

This is where the applicant invents an employer, or lists a real business but routes verification to a friend:

Employer name exists, but the “HR number” goes to a personal phone.
Email domain is newly created or unrelated to the company.
The employer is not registered, is dissolved, or doesn’t match the claimed state.

Orlando-specific twist: applicants may claim to work for a recognizable tourism or service brand, but actually work for a third-party vendor, staffing agency, or franchise—creating real confusion that fraudsters can hide behind.

Altered pay stubs and PDF “generator” stubs

Common manipulations include:

Changing gross or net pay
Inflating hours worked or hourly rate
Editing year-to-date (YTD) fields
Replacing employer info while keeping formatting intact

Landlord tools and tenant screening blogs increasingly warn that fake stubs can be highly realistic—especially with modern editing tools—so “looks professional” is not a standard. [15]

Misreported income (the “technically real pay stub” problem)

A pay stub can be real and still misleading:

Applicant submits a single high overtime period.
Applicant omits that they are seasonal or temp.
Applicant counts tip income inconsistently (cash tips rarely show up cleanly).
Applicant lists combined household income but documentation is only for one earner.

This is why many screening systems recommend decision trees that prompt “additional income verification” for some applicants rather than treating every file the same. [16]

Fake W‑2s and “official-looking” tax documents

W‑2s can be forged or altered. The higher-assurance approach (when warranted) is to rely on tax transcripts rather than standalone PDFs.

The Internal Revenue Service[17] provides transcript options that can include wage and income information reported on Forms W‑2 and 1099. [18]
Important nuance: Wage & Income transcripts may not be complete for the current tax year until employer reporting is processed. [19]

PEO, staffing, and contractor confusion (not fraud, but looks like it)

This is a frequent “false positive” in Central Florida applicant files:

The pay stub shows a payroll company or professional employer organization (PEO) as the employer of record.
The applicant calls the worksite company their employer, but payroll is issued through a co-employment arrangement.

ADP[20] describes PEO arrangements as a form of HR outsourcing with a co-employment feature where payroll and benefits administration can be handled for the business. [21]
Operationally, this means you may need to verify employment through the appropriate channel (often a verification service or the payroll/PEO administrator), not the front desk of the worksite.

A step-by-step verification workflow that catches fraud without slowing down leasing

Below is a practical workflow that works for single-family rentals and can be executed consistently across properties.

Recommended 7–14 day verification timeline

gantt
title 7–14 Day Employment & Income Verification Workflow (Recommended)
dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
axisFormat %b %d
section Day 0–2: Low-friction checks
Identity + basic income math checks (YTD, taxes) :a1, 2026-02-18, 1d
Run tenant screening (credit/eviction/criminal as used) :a2, 2026-02-19, 1d
Request employer verification channel (HR / VOE system) :a3, 2026-02-19, 2d
section Day 3–7: Verification + escalation
Verify via payroll database (e.g., Work Number) :b1, 2026-02-21, 1d
Bank-verified income deposits (permissioned) :b2, 2026-02-21, 3d
Contractor/self-employed: request expanded proof set :b3, 2026-02-21, 4d
section Day 8–14: High-assurance options (only if needed)
IRS transcript provided by applicant (preferred) :c1, 2026-02-25, 3d
Final decision + adverse action if applicable :c2, 2026-02-28, 2d

Step 1: Run “museum glass” checks on pay stubs (10 minutes)

You’re not verifying yet—you’re deciding whether this file needs escalation.

Fast checks that catch a surprising amount of fraud:

Pay period and pay frequency alignment: Does biweekly mean 26 checks/year? Does the pay date pattern make sense?
YTD sanity check: Does YTD rise logically given the number of checks?
Tax withholding realism: US payroll usually includes Social Security and Medicare withholdings for W‑2 employees. [22]
Social Security withholding rate is 6.2% (employee share) up to the wage base; Medicare withholding is 1.45% with no wage base limit. [22]
A stub showing zero FICA for a W‑2 employee can be legitimate in edge cases, but it should trigger questions and alternative proof.

Table 1: Red flags vs verification action

Pay-stub / employment red flag	Why it matters	Verification action (what to do next)
Employer email is Gmail/Yahoo or domain looks unrelated	High risk of “friendly verifier”	Verify employer domain via an independent lookup; request HR verification channel (Work Number / HR line)
HR phone number appears only on applicant-provided letter	Fraudsters route calls to themselves	Use third-party business listings, official website, or state registry to find the company’s main line
Pay stub numbers are “too round” (e.g., exactly $2,000 net every check)	Many forgeries use clean round figures	Ask for 2–3 most recent stubs + corresponding bank deposit history (permissioned or statements) [23]
YTD pay doesn’t match the number of pay periods	Common editing mistake	Request additional stubs or payroll portal export; verify via VOE database
Stub shows unusually low/zero withholdings for a W‑2 employee	Could be altered deductions	Cross-check against verified wage source or request tax transcript (Wage & Income) [24]
Employer name mismatch (worksite vs “employer of record”)	Could be PEO/staffing or fraud	Ask if worker is paid through a PEO / staffing company; verify using the correct employer-of-record channel [21]
Newly “started job yesterday” + wants immediate move-in	High correlation with fraud patterns in industry reporting	Require offer letter + first pay stub + bank deposit evidence (or guarantor); slow the process to verification completeness [25]
Offer letter lacks HR contact details or on-letterhead markers	Common forged document	Verify offer letter signatory via company directory or HR line; request start date + status confirmation
Pay stubs are screenshots with cropped or missing fields	Limits auditability	Request full PDF from payroll portal or a system-generated verification letter
Employer cannot confirm employment or refuses to verify	Not always bad, but increases uncertainty	Ask employer if they use The Work Number or a verification vendor; switch verification channel [26]
Applicant refuses any verification beyond pay stubs	Weak cooperation is a risk signal	Provide a clear, consistent “verification policy” and offer alternative proof paths
Multiple employers claimed, but only one income documented	Misstated total household income	Verify each earner separately, or qualify only documented income; treat “household income” carefully under policy

Step 2: Verify the employer exists (and is who it says it is)

Low-cost, high-leverage tools:

State business registry: Florida Department of State Division of Corporations[27] describes its system as the state’s official business entity index (Sunbiz). Use it to check whether a Florida employer is active and whether names/addresses match what’s on the stub. [28]
Domain registration lookup: ICANN[29] provides a free registration data lookup tool that can show whether a domain is brand new or long-established (useful when “HR@companyname-careers.com” appeared last week). [30]

Step 3: Verify employment through an independent channel

Your hierarchy should look like this:

1) Automated VOE/VOI database (fastest when available):
Equifax[31] operates The Work Number[32], which describes employment/income verification using employer-provided data updated each pay cycle (and is positioned to reduce manual verification burden). [33]

2) Direct employer HR verification (manual):
Many employers will confirm only limited facts (employment status, dates), but that can still be enough to validate legitimacy.

3) Third-party tenant screening vendors that include employment/income verification signals:
- RentSpree[34] describes income verification that cross-references reported income with bank account statement/deposit data (permission-based), reducing reliance on uploads alone. [35]
- SafeRent Solutions[36] markets configurable workflows that can prioritize fraud detection and income/employment verification. [37]
- Zillow Rental Manager[38] states it provides access to income documents as part of its screening workflow and partners with industry providers for background/credit components. [39]
- TransUnion SmartMove[40] describes an “Income Insights” signal designed to indicate which applicants may need additional proof of income verification. [41]
- Experian Rental Property Solutions[42] describes tenant screening that can include employment and income verification among other data. [43]

Phone verification script (HR / verification line)

Hi [Name], my name is [Your Name]. I’m calling to verify employment for a housing application.
I understand you may be limited in what you can share.

With the applicant’s written authorization, can you confirm:
1) Is [Applicant Full Name] currently employed with your organization (or through your payroll provider)?
2) Employment status: full-time/part-time/seasonal?
3) Start date?
4) Pay frequency (weekly/biweekly) and whether pay is hourly or salary?
5) If you can’t verify by phone: do you use an automated verification system (e.g., The Work Number) or a separate VOE portal, and what’s the process?

I’m not requesting any protected information—only employment verification for housing qualification.
Thank you.

This script is designed to limit risk and focus on objective verification, which is consistent with fair housing and privacy best practices. [44]

Email verification script (use only an independently sourced domain)

Subject: Employment Verification Request (Housing) – [Applicant Name]

Hello [HR/Verifier Name],

I’m verifying employment for a rental housing application. The applicant has provided written consent for verification.

Please confirm the following for: [Applicant Full Name, DOB optional if required]
1) Current employment status (active/inactive)
2) Employment type (FT/PT/seasonal/contract)
3) Start date
4) Pay frequency and whether pay is hourly or salary
5) If you use an automated verification service, please advise the correct channel/link.

Thank you,
[Name]
[Company / Phone]

Step 4: Use “source-of-truth” income verification when risk is high

When a file shows multiple red flags, shift from “document review” to “data verification.”

IRS tax transcripts (tenant-provided is usually the practical path)

The Internal Revenue Service[17] explains that individuals can access tax records/transcripts online or by mail, including wage and income statements. [45]
The IRS also notes that Wage & Income transcripts reflect information reported on W‑2 and 1099 series forms. [46]

Practical approach: - Ask the applicant to download a transcript from the IRS and share it securely. - Expect mail delivery to take 5–10 days if the applicant orders by mail. [47]

Privacy caution: IRS transcripts can include sensitive personally identifiable information; the IRS has guidance explaining transcript detail levels and “unmasked” Wage & Income transcripts. Treat storage and disposal seriously. [48]

IRS IVES (Form 4506‑C) is a high-assurance but higher-friction option

The IRS describes the Income Verification Express Service (IVES), where authorized participants can request transcripts using Form 4506‑C with taxpayer consent, and indicates a $4 fee per transcript for participants. [49]

For most single-family landlords, IVES is usually best reserved for: - Higher-rent homes - Higher-risk applications - Situations where you need the strongest defensible verification

SSA CBSV/eCBSV (identity validation, not income)

The Social Security Administration[50] offers Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (CBSV) for verifying whether a name/SSN combination matches SSA records—with a $5,000 enrollment fee and per-transaction fees, and an enrollment process that may take weeks. [51]
This is typically too heavy for small landlords, but it matters conceptually: you can separate “identity confidence” from “income confidence.”

Legal and Fair Housing constraints for verification in Florida

This section is deliberately practical: investors need “what to do” without stepping into legal traps.

Fair Housing and Florida fair housing law: use consistent standards

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development[52] summarizes protected classes under the Fair Housing Act. [53]
Florida’s fair housing statute similarly prohibits making housing unavailable or changing terms because of protected characteristics. [54]

The most common investor mistake isn’t overt discrimination—it’s inconsistency: - Asking “extra” verification questions of some applicants but not others - Allowing subjective judgment to creep in (“this job doesn’t feel stable”) - Using different documentation standards for different household types

If you need a state-level reference point, Florida Commission on Human Relations[55] is Florida’s civil rights agency handling fair housing complaints and publishes consumer-facing fair housing information. [56]

If you use a screening report or verification service, FCRA applies

The Federal Trade Commission[57] explains that landlords may obtain consumer reports for housing decisions only with a permissible purpose and should obtain written permission; landlords must also comply with adverse action rules when a consumer report influences the decision (including higher deposit, denial, etc.). [58]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau[59] emphasizes that adverse action notice obligations apply to actions based on tenant screening reports, and renters generally have rights to a free report copy within 60 days and to dispute inaccuracies. [60]

Key compliance actions to build into your workflow:

Written authorization: obtain applicant permission before ordering a screening report. [61]
Adverse action notices: required when a consumer report influences denial, higher deposit, co-signer requirement, etc.; written notice is a widely recommended best practice. [62]
Secure disposal: the FTC’s Disposal Rule requires reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access to consumer report information when you’re done with it. [63]

Templates, checklists, and investor-grade tools

Screening checklist to prevent pay-stub fraud

Baseline file (standard W‑2 employee): - 2–3 most recent pay stubs (full PDFs, not cropped images) - Photo ID - Verification channel identified (HR/VOE portal) - Credit/eviction screening completed (if part of your policy) [64]

Escalation triggers (any red flag from Table 1): - Bank deposit verification (permissioned) or 60–90 days statements (redact account numbers where possible) - Employer verification via an independent channel (VOE database preferred) - Offer letter + first pay stub for recent hires - IRS transcript (tenant-provided) for high-risk / high-rent files [65]

Table 2: Verification methods, cost, speed, and reliability

Verification method	Typical cost (landlord)	Speed	Reliability	Best use case
VOE/VOI database (e.g., The Work Number)	Varies (service-based)	Seconds to same-day	High when employer participates	Fast confirmation of active employment + income alignments [66]
Tenant screening + income flags (SmartMove Income Insights)	Per report (varies)	Same-day	Medium–High as a “triage” signal	Decide who needs deeper proof vs who doesn’t [67]
Bank-verified deposits (permissioned income verification via vendor)	Per report (varies)	1–3 days	High for cash-flow validation	Tip-based work, self-employed, suspected stub alteration [35]
Direct HR verification (manual call/email)	Low (time cost)	1–5 days	Medium (depends on employer policy)	Small employers, non-participating VOE systems
Florida business registry check (Sunbiz)	Free	Minutes	Medium (existence check)	Validate that an employer exists and is active in Florida [28]
Domain registration check (ICANN lookup)	Free	Minutes	Medium	Detect newly created “employer domains” used for scams [30]
IRS transcript provided by applicant (Get Transcript)	Free	Same-day online; 5–10 days by mail	High for tax-year validation (not real-time)	Dispute resolution, high-risk files, W‑2/1099 verification [68]
IRS IVES Form 4506‑C via participant	IRS fee $4 + vendor/admin costs	Days to a week+	Very high	High-rent homes / high-risk files needing defensible proof [69]
SSA CBSV / eCBSV (identity match)	$5,000 enrollment + per-transaction fees	Weeks to enroll; then variable	High for identity match (not income)	Rare: high-fraud environments, portfolio-level identity controls [51]
“Upload and eyeball it” only	Free	Fast	Low	Not recommended except as a first-pass step [70]

Adverse action notice template (FCRA-aligned)

Subject: Notice of Adverse Action – Rental Application for [Property Address]

Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
Applicant: [Full Name]

Thank you for your rental application. Based in whole or in part on information in a consumer report / tenant screening report, we are taking the following adverse action:

☐ Application denied
☐ Approved with conditions (higher deposit / co-signer / other): [specify]

Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) that provided the report:
Name: [CRA Name]
Address: [CRA Address]
Phone: [CRA Phone]
Website (optional): [CRA Website]

The CRA did not make this decision and cannot explain why the decision was made.

You have the right to obtain a free copy of your report from the CRA if you request it within 60 days of receiving this notice.

You also have the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information in the report with the CRA.

Sincerely,
[Name / Title]
[Landlord / Property Management Company]
[Phone / Email]

This notice structure reflects CFPB and FTC descriptions of required adverse action elements and renter rights. [71]

Lease/application clause ideas that protect landlords (and reduce fraud disputes)

These are common investor-grade concepts to review with your Florida real estate attorney:

Application representations clause: Applicant certifies that employment/income information is true and complete; material misrepresentation is grounds for denial or termination.
Right to verify clause: Applicant authorizes verification of employment/income and acknowledges that failure to cooperate may result in denial consistent with written criteria.
Fraud discovery clause: If fraud is discovered after move-in, it is a material lease breach (tie to your default provisions).

Important: if your decision is influenced by a consumer report, your adverse action process still needs to be followed. [72]

Risk mitigation in practice: disputes, escalation, and Orlando-specific edge cases

How to handle “we can’t verify your employer” without triggering fair housing risk

Use a standardized escalation path:

1) Explain the exact missing verification item (not “you seem suspicious”). 2) Offer two acceptable alternative proofs. 3) Set a deadline (24–72 hours) aligned with your leasing timeline. 4) Apply the same rule to every applicant who hits the same verification trigger.

This protects you because it’s process-based, not subjective. [44]

When to accept alternative proof (especially common in Orlando)

Some applicants are legitimate but “hard to verify”:

Service/hospitality workers with variable hours
Newly hired employees waiting for first paycheck
Contractors / gig earners with 1099 income
Students with stipend + part-time work

For these, build a policy-defined “alternative proof” ladder: - Bank deposits (90 days) - Offer letter + first pay stub when available - Previous year IRS transcript (Wage & Income) when the job history is unclear [73]

Documentation retention and secure disposal

Keep what you need to defend the decision, but treat documents as sensitive PII:

Store documents in a secure, access-limited system.
Dispose of consumer report data securely when no longer needed, consistent with the FTC Disposal Rule guidance. [63]

Subtle CTA for investors

If you’re an investor landlord managing multiple single-family homes, the real advantage isn’t “knowing what to look for”—it’s running a consistent, documented, legally defensible workflow quickly every time. That’s exactly where a professional property manager can add ROI: fewer fraud approvals, fewer preventable vacancies, and cleaner compliance execution.

Ackley Florida Property Management can implement a standardized pay-stub and employment verification workflow (including escalation pathways and compliant adverse action documentation) so your leasing decisions are faster, more consistent, and better protected.

Copyright-free image suggestions + SEO alt text

Use commercial-friendly libraries like Unsplash, Pexels, or Wikimedia Commons (verify license each time). Suggested images:

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[1] [2] [25] [36] the-rising-threat-of-multifamily-online-fraud

https://www.transunion.com/blog/the-rising-threat-of-online-fraud?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[3] [11] [18] [45] [68] Get your tax records and transcripts

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[4] [42] [57] [58] [61] [64] Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/using-consumer-reports-what-landlords-need-know?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[5] How to Show Proof of Income

https://www.zillow.com/learn/how-to-show-proof-of-income/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[6] Key Sectors | Orlando Economic Development

https://business.orlando.org/l/key-sectors/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

[7] [13] [62] [72] Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know | Federal Trade Commission

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/using-consumer-reports-what-landlords-need-know