How verification works
A plain explanation of how VerifyPDF checks a document, combines model signals and decides the trust score and fraud-risk band.
When you upload a PDF, VerifyPDF runs several analysis steps in the background and turns the findings into a single trust score and a fraud-risk band. This article explains the flow without exposing the exact detection rules.
First, VerifyPDF reads the document
VerifyPDF starts by working out what kind of document it is looking at, such as a payslip, a bank statement or an invoice. Document type matters because a pattern that is normal on one document can be unusual on another.
Then it compares signals
VerifyPDF combines several signal groups. These include machine-learning models, document layout patterns, PDF structure, internal consistency and matches against known document templates from the same or similar issuers where available.
Some checks look at whether the PDF behaves like a normal export from its claimed source. Others look at whether the document content, layout and file structure agree with each other. If a signal needs attention, it appears as a warning in the result.
Warnings are grouped and written in plain language, with the strongest signals listed first.
How the score is calculated
Every document starts at a trust score of 100. Signals that need attention lower the score. Stronger or more unusual signals lower it more. The exact weighting is private, but the idea is simple: a clean document stays high, and a document with several serious issues drops well below it.
From score to fraud-risk band
The trust score maps to a fraud-risk band so you can act on it at a glance:
- 80 to 100 is low risk.
- 41 to 79 is medium risk.
- 0 to 40 is high risk.
There is one extra rating above the rest. Trusted is reserved for a perfect score of 100 on a document that also matches a known-good template. It is the strongest signal VerifyPDF can give.
Reading your result
The result is a starting point for your own judgement, not a final verdict. A low score tells you where to look, and the warnings tell you why. To learn what each part of the result means, read Read and interpret your verification result.