Supported document type
Detect tampered and deepfake Proof of Funds
A proof of funds letter is a bank stating that a named person has money available. Embassies, sellers, and counterparties accept it in place of a full statement, which makes it a cheap target: one figure, one date, one signature. The letter has no ledger to cross-check, so detection rests on the balance and date fields, the bank's stamp and signature, and whether the letter agrees with any statement attached to it.
API slug: proof_of_funds
What a genuine proof of funds letter contains
A proof of funds letter is printed on the bank's letterhead and addressed to a named recipient or to whom it may concern. It identifies the account holder and, often in part, the account number, states a balance or minimum available funds with a currency, gives the date they are valid as of, and is signed by an officer with a branch stamp. The amount usually appears in figures and in words.
The letter should hang together. Figures and words agree, the as-of date falls shortly before the issue date, and the account details match any attached bank statement or the applicant's identity documents. The bank and branch named should be real and issue this kind of letter. Stale letters are commonly refused, so the date is checked as closely as the amount.
How proof of funds letter forgeries are made
Balance inflation
A digit is added or changed in a genuine letter. The number in figures and the amount in words can disagree, and the edited number rarely shares the letter's rendering.
Date refreshing
An old letter is reused with a new as-of date. The date's typeface and spacing differ from the header, and the balance contradicts the account's statement for the new date.
Stamp and signature transplant
The stamp and officer's signature are lifted from an authentic letter. Their resolution and tone come from another source and often fit poorly with the page's paper texture.
Wholesale bank letter fabrication
A complete letter is created for a bank, or a branch, that does not issue certificates in this form. The template, wording, and signatory details differ from the bank's genuine letters.
What TamperCheck checks on a proof of funds letter
TamperCheck runs 200+ forensic checks across three layers and returns a risk score from 0 to 100 with plain-English findings tied to specific regions of the document. These three carry the most weight on this document class.
Embossed seal analysis
A physically embossed seal deforms the paper it sits on. A seal that was scanned and reprinted is flat, and the two separate cleanly under analysis even when they are hard to tell apart by eye.
Arithmetic reconciliation
Stated totals are recomputed from their components, and running or cumulative figures are checked for continuity across periods. A single edited value breaks the chain even when the page still looks right.
Stamp authenticity and placement
Stamps are assessed for whether the ink was impressed onto the page or printed as part of it, and for whether the impression was placed digitally after the fact.
And many more checks
The three above are the layers that carry the most weight on a proof of funds letter. Every upload runs the full suite of 200+ checks regardless of document class, spanning file structure and metadata, pixel-level forensics, font and text rendering, optical and print characteristics, provenance signals, AI-generation signatures, and many more checks.
Who verifies a proof of funds letter, and why
Embassies, real-estate sellers, financial institutions, and compliance teams. In each case the document is being used to unlock money, access, or a legal status, which is exactly what makes it worth forging.
How to verify a proof of funds letter in 4 steps
Check the fields against each other
Read balance amount, as-of date, and account holder together rather than one at a time. Forgers typically change one value and leave the rest of the document describing the original.
Inspect the file metadata
Open the document properties and look at the producer, creation date, and modification date. A document produced by a consumer PDF editor, or created long after the date printed on its face, is worth a closer look.
Ask for a second document
Request a corroborating document from the same issuer or an adjacent period. Forgery effort concentrates on one file, so inconsistencies surface as soon as there are two to compare.
Run a forensic check
Manual review catches obvious edits but not field-level pixel manipulation or synthetic generation. TamperCheck runs 200+ forensic checks on a proof of funds letter and returns a risk score from 0 to 100 in about a minute, at $0.50 per document.
Frequently asked questions
How do embassies verify a proof of funds letter?
They compare the letter with the accompanying bank statements, check the date and the signatory, and sometimes contact the bank. Forensic review of the letter adds a check for altered figures, dates, and pasted stamps.
How can I detect a fake bank balance certificate?
Look for figures and words that disagree, an as-of date that clashes with the attached statement, a stamp that looks too even, and a signature that repeats across letters. File-level analysis reveals fields that were changed after the letter was generated.
Is a proof of funds letter the same as a bank statement?
No. The letter states a balance at one moment and lists no transactions. A statement shows activity over a period, which allows source-of-funds and running-balance checks the letter cannot support.
How recent must a proof of funds letter be?
It depends on the requester, but most want a letter issued within the previous few weeks. An old as-of date is a reason to ask for a fresh one, and an edited date is a reason to look at the file itself.
TamperCheck analyses proof of funds uploads with a hybrid forensic and AI pipeline tuned for this document class. Upload endpoints accept PDF and common image formats; class is inferred automatically. See the API documentation for authentication, async jobs, and webhooks.