In 2025, document forgery has become sophisticated. Basic visual inspection isn't enough.
Forgers now use advanced tools: AI-generated content, copy-paste manipulation, timestamp spoofing, and document cloning. To catch modern fraud, you need equally advanced detection methods.
ProperLet's forensic suite goes beyond traditional metadata analysis. It includes cutting-edge techniques used by law enforcement and forensic experts: copy-paste detection, document fingerprinting, temporal analysis, and network forensics.
This guide explains the advanced methods that catch fraud traditional tools completely miss.
In 2020, most forged documents were created in basic software (Word, Photoshop). In 2025, fraudsters use AI content generation, sophisticated PDF editors, and cloning tools. Detection methods must evolve accordingly.
What it detects: When forgers create documents, they often copy-paste content from authentic documents to save time. A forger might copy the logo, header, and footer from a real bank statement, then paste them into a fake one.
Copy-paste leaves forensic fingerprints that AI can detect.
The forensics system extracts every text and image element from the submitted PDF. It then cross-references these elements against known authentic bank documents. If the header logo is pixel-for-pixel identical to 100 authentic BARCLAYS statements (exact same position, size, resolution), that's normal. But if the logo is identical to 5 authentic statements, then appears in 30 forged ones, it's likely copy-pasted.
This analysis catches forgers who reuse components across multiple fake applications.
Real banks regenerate logos and design elements each statement. Forgers copy the same logo file repeatedly.
What it detects: Every PDF generated by a specific bank on a specific date has unique characteristics—a "fingerprint" of how that PDF was created. Forgers can't replicate these fingerprints perfectly.
The system analyzes 200+ low-level PDF characteristics: compression method, object stream encoding, stream object ordering, xref table positioning, etc. These form a unique "fingerprint" of how a legitimate bank's PDF engine generated the file.
A forged PDF created in Word or Acrobat will have a completely different fingerprint—it won't match known authentic bank fingerprints.
This is one of the most effective techniques because forgers don't even know what a "fingerprint" is—they can't fake it.
What it detects: When a document is edited, timestamp records update. Forgers often make mistakes with timestamps, leaving evidence of manipulation.
The system extracts all timestamps from a PDF: creation time, modification time, print time, and embedded document times. It checks for inconsistencies:
What it detects: Advanced fraud detection includes cross-referencing submitted documents against fraud networks—databases of known forged documents and forgers.
When you submit a document, the system generates a hash (digital fingerprint) of the document and checks it against:
If the same forged document is submitted by 3 different applicants, all hash to the same fingerprint, all three can be instantly flagged as duplicates of known fraud.
What it detects: Photoshop and image editing leave traces. Pixels that have been manipulated have different statistical properties than original pixels.
The system analyzes pixel-level statistical properties across the document. When an image is edited in Photoshop:
These anomalies are invisible to human eyes but detectable by forensic analysis.
Example: A forger copies a bank logo from a real statement and pastes it into a fake one. The logo region will show different compression artifacts than the surrounding document—instant red flag.
What it detects: Forgers often use different text rendering engines, creating inconsistencies in how text appears across the document.
The system uses OCR to extract every text element and analyzes:
Forged documents often have text rendered by multiple different engines, creating detectable inconsistencies.
Basic forensics catches 60-70% of forged documents. Advanced forensics catches 94-97%. The difference is these sophisticated techniques that catch modern, tech-savvy forgers who know basic detection methods.
Together, these methods form a multi-layered defense against modern fraud.
Advanced forensics represents the frontier of fraud detection. It's what law enforcement uses, what forensic experts use, and what leading-edge landlord platforms now offer. If you're not using advanced forensics, you're falling behind in an arms race against increasingly sophisticated forgers.
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