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An analyst suspects a bank statement PDF has been altered but has no forensic software available.
Run five quick checks: running balance on sample rows, fonts and alignment, PDF properties, activity pattern, and dates against bank holidays.
The original PDF as received, a calculator, a PDF reader that shows document properties, and the RBI holiday list for the period.
A pass or escalate result for each check, recorded in the credit file, with any failing file sent for forensic review.
You can run five useful checks on a suspect bank statement without any software. Recompute the running balance on a few sample rows, compare fonts and alignment, read the PDF properties, test the pattern against normal activity, and look for impossible dates. These catch crude edits. They will not catch every careful one, so a file that fails any check should go for forensic review.
These are detection steps only. They help you decide whether to trust a document; they say nothing about how a document might be changed.
What are the five manual checks?
| Check | What to look for | Minutes needed | Reading that means escalate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Running balance | Previous balance + credit − debit = printed balance | 5 to 10 | Any row that does not add up |
| 2. Fonts and alignment | Same font, size and column position on every row | 3 to 5 | One row or figure that looks different |
| 3. PDF properties | Creator, producer, created and modified dates | 2 | An editing tool named, or a modified date later than created |
| 4. Activity pattern | Salary or sales arrive on a regular rhythm | 5 to 10 | Income that suddenly changes with no reason |
| 5. Impossible dates | Cheque clearing or branch entries on holidays or Sundays | 5 | Branch cash or cheque clearing on a closed day |
A few notes on each:
- Running balance. Pick 10 to 15 rows across different pages, including the first and last row of each page.
- Fonts. Zoom in to 200% on amounts. Edited digits often sit slightly higher, lower or bolder than their neighbours.
- PDF properties. In most PDF readers this is under File, then Properties. A genuine net-banking download usually names the bank’s own reporting system.
- Pattern. A ₹45,000 salary that becomes ₹85,000 in the last two months without a new employer name in the narration needs a payslip.
- Dates. UPI and IMPS work every day, so digital entries on holidays are normal. Cheque clearing and branch cash on a national holiday are not.
When should you stop checking by hand?
Stop and refer when:
- any running balance row fails;
- PDF properties name an editing tool;
- two or more of the other checks raise doubts;
- the file is a scan and you cannot run checks 2 and 3 at all.
Also stop when volume makes manual work unrealistic. Checking every row of a twelve-month business statement with 2,000 entries by hand is not practical.
Worked example: a ₹1,000 break
Three consecutive rows from a statement:
| Date | Narration | Debit | Credit | Printed balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug | Opening for the row block | ₹48,200 | ||
| 11 Aug | NEFT from customer | ₹15,000 | ₹63,200 | |
| 12 Aug | UPI to supplier | ₹6,300 | ₹57,900 |
Work it out: ₹48,200 + ₹15,000 = ₹63,200, which matches. Then ₹63,200 − ₹6,300 = ₹56,900. The statement prints ₹57,900, which is ₹1,000 higher. Genuine bank systems do not make this kind of error, so the file is referred. The break sits between the 11 August row, which is correct, and the 12 August row, which is not.
What to read next
The running balance check is the most useful single test, so read how to check the running balance of a bank statement by hand next. For what careful edits look like, see PDF tampering detection for bank statements and bank statement PDF metadata inspection.
A bank statement analyzer runs these checks on every row of every file. TransactIQ, a managed service on Terra Insight’s AWS Mumbai infrastructure, includes fraud and anomaly signals among its 40+ engineered credit signals, each rule-traceable for your credit team.