Are there any verification processes to prevent cheating with TAS- Replay devices? Sure a WR level run will undergo extra checks, but what would stop somebody from claiming to get a sub 5 run or similar and getting away with it?

We've known about these devices for a few years now and yes, they do pose a concern for sure. I won't disclose specifics on what we look for (for obvious reasons), but I will say that there's generally a few things that stand out when cheated runs are submitted.

Honestly, this is a "use your best judgement" stance for verifying runs. If we aren't reasonably sure a run is valid, we'll reject it. If there's no concrete proof of cheating, but we're still uncomfortable accepting the run, we don't have to approve it (this has happened before).

Could there be cheated runs on the leaderboard already and they got away with it? Sure, that's entirely possible. To be honest, you can argue that unless the mod team was physically in the room with the runner when they got their PB or WR and checked all the hardware/software, that there could be a way that it was faked.

Assuming people wouldn't spend $100 to take the "easy" road to get some recognition without putting in the work is a bit naïve. There are people out there that would absolutely do that. We don't know how many people have these devices. It could be a lot more than we think. If they're gonna use one for cheating, it's pretty unlikely they'd tell someone they have it.