Suspect bank statement is fake

1234g

Ive have been given a bank statement from someone but Im quite sure its fake. Its a Natwest Bank transaction statement but despite contacting Natwest they wont verify if its a fake or not. So im stumped as where to go with this. I have nothing to compare it with but certain things dont look right like OD beside a zero balance- its not an overdrawn balance at that point. No bar code on it and not laid out like a normal statement would be. But its transaction printout so ive been told its different when you download and print at home.... if anyone has a natwest bank account and can verify this i would appreciate your help. 
 

WillPS

What right have you to be interrogating someone else's transaction data, is the first question that springs to mind?

mr_stripey

what do you hope to achieve by verifying if it is fake or genuine?

DullGreyGuy

Barcode? Who puts barcodes on their statements let alone just a transaction list? 

Why are you getting bank statements from this person? What are you hoping they prove?

Ultimately anything can be mocked up/altered if someone has the technical skills and the desire so there is no way to definitively state something is genuine other than someone who has access to that account and clearly NW are not going to tell you about a third party's account!

If you dont like the look of the download why not ask them to provide a screenshot of them accessing the Web version of their online banking (apps can prevent screenshotting) inc the address bar... still no guarantee but takes a touch more skill. 

MattMattMattUK

1234g said:

Ive have been given a bank statement from someone but Im quite sure its fake. Its a Natwest Bank transaction statement but despite contacting Natwest they wont verify if its a fake or not. So im stumped as where to go with this. I have nothing to compare it with but certain things dont look right like OD beside a zero balance- its not an overdrawn balance at that point. No bar code on it and not laid out like a normal statement would be. But its transaction printout so ive been told its different when you download and print at home.... if anyone has a natwest bank account and can verify this i would appreciate your help. 

No bank transaction history that I am aware of include a barcode, some statements might, but they are more likely to contain something that looks a bit a QR code somewhere, that being said every bank is different and what you describe is perfectly normal for a transaction history. 

Are you holding this information in a business capacity? As you are handling a third parties data are you ICO registered for data processing and do you have the relevant systems and procedures in place to secure this document? Do you have a data handling policy including the possibility of an SAR, a retention policy etc.? Do you have a valid reason for requesting and/or holding this information in the first place?

Finally and perhaps most importantly, if you are really that worried about it being fake then be aware that pretty much any document can be faked. I could in less than half an hour produce a fake bank statement that no one other than the bank would be able to tell was not real and the only reason the bank could tell would be because it would not match their own systems. Even emails are easy to fake/spoof if one has a small amount of technical ability and the ability to use Google. 

steven141

I don’t have NatWest anymore but I’ve taken a screenshot of my Royal Bank of Scotland statement which I have removed my details. I’m sure it’s in a similar format for NatWest and Ulster Bank. 

Ayr_Rage

If you have their name, sort code and account number use a banking app to set them up a new payee, if the details cannot be matched successfully be very suspicious.

born_again

1234g said:

Ive have been given a bank statement from someone but Im quite sure its fake. Its a Natwest Bank transaction statement but despite contacting Natwest they wont verify if its a fake or not. So im stumped as where to go with this. I have nothing to compare it with but certain things dont look right like OD beside a zero balance- its not an overdrawn balance at that point. No bar code on it and not laid out like a normal statement would be. But its transaction printout so ive been told its different when you download and print at home.... if anyone has a natwest bank account and can verify this i would appreciate your help. 
 

Perhaps before anyone can answer your question, you explain exactly what you are doing & why you want to see anyone else's statement?

tacpot12

This is a current NatWest Online Banking Statement. Seems to be the same as the RBS one except for the logo, which makes sense. 

saajan_12

Surprised why everyone else is surprised at wanting to review bank statements - its a normal part of checking references and affordability, just like an estate agent or landlord would do for example. 

Yes there are hurdles to pass such as registering with ICO, having a proper system to securely store the data, delete when not needed, etc but those would likely already be the case with other personal information held. Nothing in the OP to suggest that's at issue. 

However OP, there's likely no way to fully verify, and I doubt the bank would help as it opens up GDPR things to check for the advisor without any benefit to them. All you can do is try to get a hold of a friend's statement to compare the format, or ask the person about the discrepancies in case there's an explanation, or ask them to show on the app . website itself. They may or may not be willing to answer. 

PRAISETHESUN

For what it's worth, it looks similar enough to my NatWest/RBS statements, but obviously we can't verify the accuracy of any of the details without seeing the unredacted original (which for clarity, you should NOT provide on a public forum). If you're worried about the authenticity of the statement, can you ask the person to provide a copy which has been certified in branch perhaps?