How to tell if a document is fake

Usually you can’t, from the document alone: logos, stamps and fonts can be copied. Ask the organisation that issued it, using contact details you find yourself, not the ones printed on it. Pick your document below to see who can confirm it.

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Is this document real? Pick it and see who can confirm it

KuduDoc cannot tell you whether a document is genuine. The organisation that issued it can; here is how to ask them.

What were you sent?

Not listed? Ask the organisation named on it, using contact details you find yourself.

Who can confirm each document

Last checked

DocumentWho can confirm itWhat you need
Bank statementThe bank that issued itThe account holder’s written consent
Bank confirmation letterThe issuing bank; your own bank’s account-owner checkThe account number and the holder’s name
PayslipThe employerThe employee’s written consent
registration reportFor government buyersThe supplier’s number
certificateThe agency that issued itThe certificate’s number and date
sworn affidavitNobody issues it; check its date and the companyThe affidavit
QualificationThe institution that awarded itThe holder’s written consent
Title deedThe issuing officeThe property’s description
Government order or quotation requestThe department, on the number on its own websiteNothing from the sender
PDF sealed with KuduDocKuduDoc’s public checkerThe PDF itself
PDF with a digital signatureThe PDF signature checkerThe PDF itself

Money

Last checked

Bank statement

Ask the bank, not the statement.

Who can confirm it
The bank that issued it
What you need
The account holder’s written consent

How to ask

  1. If the account holder can open their banking app with you, ask them to download the statement there and then: it comes straight from the bank.
  2. Otherwise, get the account holder’s written consent.
  3. Contact the bank through details on its own website, send the consent, and ask whether it issued this statement.
What the answer tells you
Whether the bank issued that statement.

With a KuduDoc account

Get consent to check Copy a request Keep the answer

Money

Last checked

Bank confirmation letter

Check the account, not the letterhead.

Who can confirm it
The bank that issued it; your own bank’s account-owner check
What you need
The account number and the holder’s name

How to ask

  1. Your own bank may offer an account-owner check: it confirms that an account number belongs to the named holder before you pay. Run it with the account number and the name on the letter.
  2. If the answer differs from the letter, call the bank that issued the letter through its website.
What the answer tells you
Whether the account number belongs to the named holder.
What it does not tell you
Anything else the letter says.

Money

Last checked

Payslip

Ask the employer, not the payslip.

Who can confirm it
The employer
What you need
The employee’s written consent

How to ask

  1. Get the employee’s written consent.
  2. Contact the employer through details you look up yourself, such as its website or switchboard, not the ones on the payslip.
  3. Ask whether it issued this payslip with these figures.
What the answer tells you

With a KuduDoc account

Get consent to check Copy a request Keep the answer

Qualifications

Last checked

Qualification

Ask the institution that awarded it.

Who can confirm it
The institution that awarded it
What you need
The holder’s written consent

How to ask

  1. Get the holder’s written consent.
  2. Ask the university, college or school that awarded it.
What the answer tells you
Whether the qualification was awarded and is on the national record.

With a KuduDoc account

Get consent to check Copy a request Keep the answer

PDFs

Last checked

A PDF sealed with KuduDoc

Check the file on KuduDoc’s public checker.

Who can confirm it
KuduDoc’s public checker
What you need
The PDF itself, not a printed code

How to ask

  1. Open the public checker and check it free, without an account.
  2. Bring the PDF itself, not a printout or a screenshot.
What the answer tells you
Unchanged since sealingUnchanged since stampingNo matching record
What it does not tell you
What the document says, who signed it or who owns anything: a match is a fact about the file’s bytes.

PDFs

Last checked

A PDF with a digital signature

Check its signatures, not its letterhead.

Who can confirm it
The PDF signature checker
What you need
The PDF itself

How to ask

  1. Check its signatures with the PDF signature checker.
  2. Read each signature’s own line: whether the signed part has changed since that signature, and who the certificate names.
What the answer tells you
Whether the signed part changed since each signature, and who the certificate names.
What it does not tell you
Whether the document is true. That is a fact about the signature, not about what the document says.

The picker shows routes already on this page: nothing you pick is sent anywhere, and it never asks for the document itself. If an official link on this page has moved, tell us at hello@kududoc.co.za.

How to check if a document is forged

A document can’t prove itself. Letterheads, logos, stamps and signatures can be copied, and a scan or a PDF made from a real document looks like one. Even a PDF’s own dates can be rewritten.

The organisation that issued it keeps the record behind it. Ask it.

the tax status
the company register
The deeds registry
the title
The employer
its payroll records
The bank
the account
  • Use contact details you find yourself. The organisation’s own website, your banking app, a number you already had. The Central Supplier Database gives the same advice about orders that claim to come from government.
  • Where you can, get the document from the source. A statement downloaded from the banking app while you watch.

Warning signs worth a closer look

None of these proves a document is fake, and a document with none of them can still be false. Treat each one as a reason to ask the issuer, not as a test.

  • The only way to reach the issuer is a number or address printed on the document.
  • The sender is in a hurry, or discourages you from checking.
  • An email that looks official comes from an address outside the organisation’s own website domain.
  • Totals, balances or dates don’t add up, or don’t match each other.
  • You are offered a photo, a screenshot or a retyped copy instead of the file from the source.
  • The PDF’s properties name an editing app. A clue only: an innocent re-save does this too.

Pick the document in the router and ask →

What KuduDoc can and cannot tell you

KuduDoc cannot tell you whether a document is genuine or fake, and it does not look for forgeries. What it can do is narrower: if a PDF was sealed with KuduDoc, check it free, without an account.

What the public checker can say about a PDF

  • Unchanged since sealing

    The file’s bytes match a seal made from a KuduDoc account.

  • Unchanged since stamping

    The file matches a public-tool stamp, not an account seal.

  • No matching record

    No KuduDoc record matches this exact file.

A match means unchanged since sealing — a fact about the file's bytes, not about what the document says, who signed it or who owns anything.

No matching record is not evidence that a file was changed. Most documents were never sealed with KuduDoc, and the checker cannot tell a never-sealed file from an altered one.

If you issue documents yourself (payslips, letters, certificates), seal them before they leave you, so anyone who receives the sealed PDF can check it free against your sealing record.

If you think a document is forged

Tell the organisation the document claims to come from: it holds the record.

Questions people ask

Pick your document →

How can I tell if a document is fake?

Usually not from the document itself: logos, stamps and fonts can be copied, and a copy with no mistakes can still be false. Ask the organisation that issued it, using contact details you find yourself rather than the ones printed on the document.

How do I spot a fake bank statement?

Ask the bank, not the statement. Have the account holder download it from their banking app while you watch, or contact the bank through its own website with the account holder’s written consent. Totals that don’t add up are a reason to ask, not proof either way.

How can I check if a payslip is real?

Ask the employer named on it, through contact details you look up yourself, such as its website or switchboard. Get the employee’s written consent first.

How do I check a certificate?

Ask the organisation that issued it, using contact details you look up yourself, not the ones printed on the certificate.

How can I tell if property documents are forged?

Ask the office that registered the property for a printout of the registration, and compare the title deed you were given with it.

Does “No matching record” mean a document is fake?

No. It means no KuduDoc seal matches that exact file. Most documents were never sealed with KuduDoc, and the checker cannot tell a never-sealed file from an altered one. No matching record is not evidence that a file was changed.

Can KuduDoc tell me whether a document is genuine?

No. KuduDoc can tell you whether a PDF sealed with KuduDoc is unchanged since sealing. A match means unchanged since sealing — a fact about the file's bytes, not about what the document says, who signed it or who owns anything. For anything else, ask the issuer.

Sources

Every route is checked against the issuer’s own published page. Last checked .

Consent · Request · Answer

Keep each document with its answer.

The document, the signed consent and the issuer’s reply in one collection, with the expiry dates that matter. Personal is free, with no card and no expiry date.

Start free Check a sealed PDF