Detect a fake
proof of address
A utility bill is the easiest document to edit: two lines, a name and an address. Holofin compares them with the rest of the case, checks how the file was made, and catches the edits AI image models make.
Electricity bill
September · Account 7741 0293
The problem
Four ways
to fake a proof of address.
Proof of address is asked for in almost every case and checked in almost none. These are the four forms it takes, and the check that answers each.
The edited bill
A real bill with the name or the address changed.
Caught by address vs the case
The generated bill
Drawn from scratch by a template site or an image model.
Caught by Holograin
Someone else's bill
Genuine, but in a parent's or a flatmate's name.
Caught by name vs identity
The old bill
Real, but from an address the applicant left a year ago.
Caught by issue date
How Holofin checks it
Six checks,
from proof to clue.
Holofin does not ask a supplier whether the bill exists. It checks that the bill agrees with the case, that it was produced the way the supplier produces bills, and that no one redrew it.
- 01
The name and address against the rest of the case
The holder must be the applicant on the identity document, and the address the one on the bank statement, the payslip or the tax notice. The issue date is read too, so a rule can require a bill less than three months old.
strong
What it reads
- Holder
- Supply address
- Issue date
- Bank statement
- Payslip
- 02
AI-generated and AI-edited bills
Holograin, our proprietary model trained on financial documents, detects bills generated by AI and bills whose name or address an image model rewrote. It reads the texture a generator leaves in every pixel, which no re-save or screenshot removes.
How Holograin works
AI detected96/100A fictitious document after one prompt to an image model, as Holograin scored it. - 03
The supplier's fingerprint
Energy and telecom suppliers produce their bills with the same software every month. A bill that claims a supplier but was built with different tools, fonts or structure than that supplier's other bills is flagged.
medium
What it reads
- PDF producer
- Fonts
- Layout
- Known bills from the supplier
- 04
The totals, recomputed
Consumption per period must add up to the billed consumption, and the lines to the amount due. A fabricated bill often gets the layout right and the arithmetic wrong.
medium
What it reads
- Consumption per period
- Billed total
- Amount due
- 05
Picture modifications on scans and photos
On a scan or a photo, the image is analysed region by region: a pasted address block, a white patch under a name, characters that do not match the rest of the page. The retouched area is located.
medium
What it reads
- Pasted blocks
- White patches
- Font mismatches
- 06
The file itself
Modification dates, an online editor in the history, text laid over text. These clues open an enquiry; they never refuse a bill on their own, because a genuine one downloaded and re-saved shows them too.
What it reads
- Metadata
- Edit history
- Overlaid text
Use cases
Wherever an address
matters.
Lending
The borrower's address, consistent across the case.
Tenant screening
The applicant's current address, recent and in their name.
KYC onboarding
Proof of address checked at upload, before review.
Insurance
The insured address on the policy against the documents.
By API, upload portal or SFTP
Send the bill on its own or with the whole case; get back the holder, the address, the issue date and every signal, with the page and line each value came from.
FAQ
Fake proofs of address
Test Holofin on your proofs of address
Send us the bills you receive, including the doubtful ones. We return every signal, bill by bill.
