Guide
How to spot a fake boleto
A fake boleto looks exactly like the real one. The difference is who receives the money. These checks take a minute and catch almost every case, as long as the most important one — the recipient's name in your bank app — is never skipped.
Steps
- Get the boleto from the company's official site or app, not from a link someone sent.
- Paste the payment line into the boleto checker: bank, amount and due date must match.
- In your bank app, stop on the confirmation screen and read the recipient's name and CNPJ.
- Only pay if the recipient is the company you owe. If not, contact the company through its official channel.
Where fake boletos come from
Most arrive by email or WhatsApp, imitating a bill you really owe — a school fee, an instalment, a utility bill — sometimes offering a discount for paying early. Others come from fake "second copy" sites that show up in search ads, and a few from malware that swaps the payment line on the page you are looking at.
The fraudster does not edit your real boleto. They issue a new, perfectly valid one from their own account, with the same logo and your correct details. That is why a boleto can pass every digit check and still be fake.
What the payment line tells you
The 47-digit line starts with the issuing bank's code — 001 is Banco do Brasil, 033 Santander, 104 Caixa, 237 Bradesco, 341 Itaú — and ends with the due date and the amount. If a company always bills you through one bank and this boleto comes from another, stop and ask.
Check digits catch a line that was typed wrong or altered by hand. They cannot tell you who receives the money: that name is registered with the bank, not written in the line.
The check that settles it
Every banking app shows the recipient's name and CNPJ or CPF before you confirm. Read it. If it is a person's name when you owe a company, or a company you have never heard of, do not pay.
Brazilian banks also offer DDA (Débito Direto Autorizado), which lists boletos issued in your name. A genuine bill from a company you deal with usually appears there on its own; a boleto that only exists as a PDF someone sent you deserves more suspicion.
If you already paid
Call your bank immediately with the receipt: the sooner they contact the receiving bank, the better the chance of blocking the money, although recovery is not guaranteed. File a police report, which can be done online in most states, and tell the company that was impersonated.
Frequently asked questions
Can a fake boleto have valid check digits?
Yes. Fraudsters issue real boletos from their own accounts, so every digit checks out. The recipient name in your bank app is what gives them away.
Does the boleto checker show who receives the money?
No, because the name is not part of the boleto: it is registered with the issuing bank. Only your bank's confirmation screen shows it.
What does the first number of a boleto mean?
On a 47-digit boleto, the first three digits are the issuing bank's code. Utility and tax bills use 48 digits and start with 8.
Is the boleto sent to a server when I check it?
No. The check runs in your browser, including reading the barcode from an image.
Use the tool
Apply these steps directly in the browser.
Boleto checker →