Have you guys ever get an application and most of the information are false? From pay stubs to current landlord. Can you guys tell if it is fake pay stubs or fake W2? What about fake letter from work?

I can figure out most of the time when it is fake landlord, but these pay stubs looked so good I almost fell for it. Scary what people can come up with.

In addition to what Rathdrumgal does, I look up the owner of the home on the tax records, before I call the LL reference. It's not full proof, but listening to them stumble out their stories, after I ask who owns the home, is one of my favorite sports.

Recently got an application from a couple that wanted to rent an apartment from us. Almost everything on the applications was false, with the exception of their names. They gave relatives that own a house as their landlord, and by using Facebook and looking up their friends, you can pretty much figure it out. That tactic does not work if they have their privacy settings buttoned up, but the real losers down't bother with such things. Claimed they had never been evicted and did not have any outstanding judgeents (right ...wink, wink).

Screen x3. (Effort)

Pay stubs and W2s are for sale on road signs and online, but a Channel 2 Action News investigation found that taxpayers ultimately pay for the financial fraud these fake documents could be used for.

Channel 2 investigators went undercover to see how easy it was to get to get fake financial documents.

For only $50 a producer bought an envelope full of legitimate looking W2s and paycheck stubs off CraigsList. The documents had the producer’s real name, but the seller made up everything else on the paperwork.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant showed the documents to forensic accountant David Sawyer to get his take on their authenticity.

"These documents, they look pretty authentic," Sawyer said.

Authorities explained to Diamant it is not illegal to produce, sell or buy these documents. A page long disclaimer in the envelope of documents Channel 2 purchased called them “novelty” items.

U.S. Attorney John Horn said documents like these are really only used for one thing.

"It's hard to imagine what a legitimate purpose would be for obtaining that kind of financial documentation,” Horn said.

Prosecutors and investigators told Diamant they’ve seen fake documents in a variety of fraud schemes: mortgages, bank loans, car financing, and even apartment leases.

"Would this really fool a big mortgage company?" Diamant asked Sawyer.

"Because they have so much documentation to process, it could and that's scary," Sawyer replied.

Although schemers risk arrest for committing the fraud, everyday citizens are the ones paying for these financial crimes.

"Every citizen who at some point is going to ask for a loan or credit from a financial institution, this type of fraud makes that more expensive," Horn said.

And, according to the banks, fraud makes things more complicated to honest customers.

"We're asking for additional ID, maybe some additional documentation that we wouldn’t have had to ask for many years ago," said Wells Fargo senior vice president Wendy Lawrence.

She admits fraudsters force banks to put even their best customers under a microscope, and that cost could be passed on to consumers.

"The taxpayers should be outraged," said FBI Special Agent Steve Emmett.

Diamant showed Emmett a small slip of paper attached to the document purchased by Channel 2 investigators. It appeared to list the woman who identified herself as the seller of the documents as the human resources contact for a company called Bonner Services, the company listed on the pay stubs and W2s.

Emmett said if sellers are supplying verification for the W2 and pay stubs, it makes these documents much more than novelty items.

"That's a crime,” Emmett said. “They are conspiring to commit a fraud."

Channel 2 set up another buy with this Craigslist seller, but an associate who said his name was Tyson showed up to deliver the envelope of documents.

Tyson told Diamant he was just delivering the documents for a friend, not producing or selling them.

"Do you know people could use these documents to commit fraud?" Diamant asked the man.

"I don't know what's in the documents," Tyson said.

After Diamant showed Tyson the contents of the envelope he was delivering, more novelty financial documents, he said he was surprised.

"Well, I have to sit there and have a word with her, but I won't do it anymore. That's for sure," Tyson said.

But as long as fake documents help perpetuate financial crimes, everyday citizens will continue to pay the price.

I take any tenant provided documentation with great suspicion.

I average just about 30% of my applicants give me a false landlord reference. It's not as common to receive a false employer reference, but that happens, too. It's not rare to lie about amount of salary.

I verify their employer info by calling when the business should be closed. If it's legit, I'll get their voicemail with the name of the business.

We started asking for their most recent paystubs, because we found it next to impossible to get hold of anyone in Human Resources. So many companies have automated systems, and the caller is told to leave their name, number and reason for the call. I have left many a message for someone in HR to call me back to verify employment on an applicant. I always state we have a signed authorization from their employee. They rarely call back.

Ditto for apartment complexes. I tried to verify the information given to me by an applicant this week. I left several messages over a 2 day period, and no one ever called me back.