What Is a Statement Tampering Check?
A statement tampering check refers to verifying that submitted bank statements are original and unmodified.
In MCA and small business lending, tampered statements often contain false balances, adjusted transactions, or missing pages designed to make applicants appear stronger than they are.
This type of check usually appears during intake and scrubbing. Operators use it to make sure that the documents they rely on for underwriting are accurate, complete, and free of manipulation.
How Does a Statement Tampering Check Work?
Statement tampering check involves technical and contextual validation steps.
- File analysis: PDFs are scanned for metadata inconsistencies, such as edits or altered timestamps.
- Content verification: Totals, transaction sums, and balances are cross-checked to confirm they add up correctly.
- Page validation: Statements are reviewed for missing pages, duplicate pages, or non-standard formatting.
- Flagging anomalies: Any evidence of manipulation is surfaced as a risk signal.
Heron automates statement tampering checks as part of its scrubbing process.
- Automated parsing: Submitted PDFs are ingested, and metadata is scanned for signs of alteration.
- Integrity review: Heron compares transaction totals against balances to detect inconsistencies.
- Completeness check: Missing or duplicate pages are flagged automatically.
- Structured outputs: Results are written into CRM fields so underwriters know whether a statement is clean or requires review.
- Next action: Submissions flagged for tampering are routed to exception queues or rejected outright.
This prevents fraudulent or incomplete documents from advancing into underwriting.
Why Is a Statement Tampering Check Important?
For brokers and funders, statement tampering checks are critical because underwriting decisions rely heavily on bank statement data. If the data is manipulated, the risk of default or fraud rises significantly.
By automating this step, Heron makes sure fraudulent or altered statements are caught early. This saves underwriting teams time, reduces exposure to bad deals, and protects funders’ portfolios.
Common Use Cases
Statement tampering detection is applied in document review workflows.
- Flagging PDFs with altered metadata or suspicious editing history.
- Identifying totals that do not match transaction line items.
- Catching missing or duplicate pages in multi-page statements.
- Writing tampering flags into CRM fields for underwriting visibility.
- Escalating high-risk cases for manual document verification.
FAQs About Statement Tampering Check
How does Heron detect tampered statements?
Heron scans PDFs for metadata changes, validates totals against transactions, and checks for missing or duplicated pages. Any inconsistencies are flagged automatically.
Why are tampering checks necessary in MCA underwriting?
They protect funders from fraud and misrepresentation. A manipulated statement can make a weak applicant look strong, leading to unnecessary risk exposure.
What outputs should teams expect from statement tampering checks?
Teams receive structured CRM fields noting whether the statement passed validation or was flagged for anomalies, along with details on what was detected.