The Merced County District Attorney’s Office is advising area businesses to be especially vigilant when processing credit applications after discovering a paystub scam circulating in the region.

The discovery was made after two women were arrested for using bogus paystubs to gain pre-approval for financing at a car dealership.

The first woman to try using the fraudulent paystubs was successful in gaining “pre-approval” for a car and was able drive it off of the lot, said Deputy District Attorney Travis Colby. The financing company did decline the application due to the documents being fraudulent, but only after she made off with the car. The second woman was denied credit by the finance manager after he recognized the paystub and knew it was also fraudulent.

The paystubs were created on a website called calistubs.com and will often bear a watermark with the web address.. The website allows users to create a paystub in a matter of seconds that may look genuine and print out the same, said Colby. Verifying employment information on a paystub prior to releasing vehicles or merchandise on a credit approval is one way to help protect against fraud, he added.

Merced County businesses that may been a victim of this scam can contact Anna Hazel, an investigator from Merced District Attorney’s Office at (209) 385-7381 ext. 4256.