diff --git a/frontend/src/components/config/HealthConfigSection.tsx b/frontend/src/components/config/HealthConfigSection.tsx
index b05e1dd99..71dcb8490 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/config/HealthConfigSection.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/config/HealthConfigSection.tsx
@@ -384,6 +384,23 @@ export function HealthConfigSection({
 								validation of all segments (slower).
 							</p>
 						</fieldset>
+						<fieldset className="fieldset">
+							<legend className="fieldset-legend">Hybrid Data Verification</legend>
+							<label className="label cursor-pointer">
+								<span className="label-text">Enable data verification</span>
+								<input
+									type="checkbox"
+									className="checkbox"
+									checked={formData.data_verification ?? false}
+									disabled={isReadOnly}
+									onChange={(e) => handleInputChange("data_verification", e.target.checked)}
+								/>
+							</label>
+							<p className="label text-sm">
+								When enabled, verify a subset of segments by downloading them to ensure data integrity.
+								This helps detect "ghost" files that exist on the provider but are corrupted.
+							</p>
+						</fieldset>
 						{formData.segment_sample_percentage !== undefined && !formData.check_all_segments && (
 							<fieldset className="fieldset">
 								<legend className="fieldset-legend">Segment Sample Percentage</legend>
diff --git a/frontend/src/types/config.ts b/frontend/src/types/config.ts
index 0259742af..6d8819314 100644
--- a/frontend/src/types/config.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/types/config.ts
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ export interface HealthConfig {
 	library_sync_interval_minutes?: number; // Library sync interval in minutes (optional)
 	check_all_segments?: boolean; // Whether to check all segments or use sampling
 	resolve_repair_on_import?: boolean; // Automatically resolve pending repairs in the same directory when a new file is imported
+	data_verification?: boolean; // Whether to perform actual data download verification (hybrid approach)
 }
 
 // Library sync types
@@ -296,6 +297,7 @@ export interface HealthUpdateRequest {
 	library_sync_interval_minutes?: number; // Library sync interval in minutes (optional)
 	check_all_segments?: boolean; // Whether to check all segments or use sampling
 	resolve_repair_on_import?: boolean;
+	data_verification?: boolean;
 }
 
 // RClone update request
diff --git a/internal/config/accessors.go b/internal/config/accessors.go
index f0e0eb963..841ab3ce2 100644
--- a/internal/config/accessors.go
+++ b/internal/config/accessors.go
@@ -39,6 +39,14 @@ func (c *Config) GetSegmentSamplePercentage() int {
 	return c.Health.SegmentSamplePercentage
 }
 
+// GetDataVerification returns whether data verification is enabled with a default fallback.
+func (c *Config) GetDataVerification() bool {
+	if c.Health.DataVerification == nil {
+		return false // Default: false
+	}
+	return *c.Health.DataVerification
+}
+
 // GetLibrarySyncInterval returns the library sync interval with a default fallback.
 func (c *Config) GetLibrarySyncInterval() time.Duration {
 	if c.Health.LibrarySyncIntervalMinutes <= 0 {
diff --git a/internal/config/manager.go b/internal/config/manager.go
index 27c1e5464..8a7e31f94 100644
--- a/internal/config/manager.go
+++ b/internal/config/manager.go
@@ -192,6 +192,7 @@ type HealthConfig struct {
 	LibrarySyncIntervalMinutes    int     `yaml:"library_sync_interval_minutes" mapstructure:"library_sync_interval_minutes" json:"library_sync_interval_minutes,omitempty"`
 	LibrarySyncConcurrency        int     `yaml:"library_sync_concurrency" mapstructure:"library_sync_concurrency" json:"library_sync_concurrency,omitempty"`
 	ResolveRepairOnImport         *bool   `yaml:"resolve_repair_on_import" mapstructure:"resolve_repair_on_import" json:"resolve_repair_on_import,omitempty"`
+	DataVerification              *bool   `yaml:"data_verification" mapstructure:"data_verification" json:"data_verification,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // GenerateProviderID creates a unique ID based on host, port, and username
@@ -856,6 +857,7 @@ func DefaultConfig(configDir ...string) *Config {
 	skipHealthCheck := true
 	watchIntervalSeconds := 10 // Default watch interval
 	cleanupAutomaticImportFailure := false
+	dataVerification := false
 
 	// Set paths based on whether we're running in Docker or have a specific config directory
 	var dbPath, metadataPath, logPath, rclonePath, cachePath string
@@ -982,6 +984,7 @@ func DefaultConfig(configDir ...string) *Config {
 			SegmentSamplePercentage:       5,   // Default: 5% segment sampling
 			LibrarySyncIntervalMinutes:    360, // Default: sync every 6 hours
 			ResolveRepairOnImport:         &resolveRepairOnImport, // Enabled by default
+			DataVerification:              &dataVerification, // Disabled by default
 		},
 		SABnzbd: SABnzbdConfig{
 			Enabled:               &sabnzbdEnabled,
diff --git a/internal/health/checker.go b/internal/health/checker.go
index c3fdd90bb..b25bd088c 100644
--- a/internal/health/checker.go
+++ b/internal/health/checker.go
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ func (hc *HealthChecker) checkSingleFile(ctx context.Context, filePath string, f
 		hc.poolManager,
 		cfg.GetMaxConnectionsForHealthChecks(),
 		samplePercentage,
+		cfg.GetDataVerification(),
 		nil, // No progress callback for health checks
 		30*time.Second,
 	)
diff --git a/internal/importer/validation/segments.go b/internal/importer/validation/segments.go
index 481763d8d..ce15c2b80 100644
--- a/internal/importer/validation/segments.go
+++ b/internal/importer/validation/segments.go
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ func ValidateSegmentsForFile(
 	}
 
 	// Validate segment availability using shared validation logic
-	if err := usenet.ValidateSegmentAvailability(ctx, segments, poolManager, maxGoroutines, samplePercentage, progressTracker, timeout); err != nil {
+	if err := usenet.ValidateSegmentAvailability(ctx, segments, poolManager, maxGoroutines, samplePercentage, false, progressTracker, timeout); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/usenet/validation.go b/internal/usenet/validation.go
index 6776bb3fc..ce4ed27f5 100644
--- a/internal/usenet/validation.go
+++ b/internal/usenet/validation.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package usenet
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"math/rand"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ func ValidateSegmentAvailability(
 	poolManager pool.Manager,
 	maxConnections int,
 	samplePercentage int,
+	verifyData bool,
 	progressTracker progress.ProgressTracker,
 	timeout time.Duration,
 ) error {
@@ -57,6 +59,37 @@ func ValidateSegmentAvailability(
 	// Atomic counter for progress tracking (thread-safe for concurrent validation)
 	var validatedCount int32
 
+	// Determine which segments need FULL download verification if verifyData is enabled
+	segmentsToDownload := make(map[string]bool)
+	if verifyData {
+		// First segment
+		if len(segments) > 0 {
+			segmentsToDownload[segments[0].Id] = true
+		}
+		// Last segment
+		if len(segments) > 1 {
+			segmentsToDownload[segments[len(segments)-1].Id] = true
+		}
+		// Random sample of ~18 others from the SELECTED segments
+		candidates := make([]string, 0, len(segmentsToValidate))
+		for _, s := range segmentsToValidate {
+			if !segmentsToDownload[s.Id] {
+				candidates = append(candidates, s.Id)
+			}
+		}
+
+		if len(candidates) > 0 {
+			perm := rand.Perm(len(candidates))
+			count := 18
+			if count > len(candidates) {
+				count = len(candidates)
+			}
+			for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
+				segmentsToDownload[candidates[perm[i]]] = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Validate segments concurrently with connection limit
 	pl := concpool.New().WithErrors().WithFirstError().WithMaxGoroutines(maxConnections)
 	for _, segment := range segmentsToValidate {
@@ -65,7 +98,15 @@ func ValidateSegmentAvailability(
 			checkCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, timeout)
 			defer cancel()
 
-			_, err := usenetPool.Stat(checkCtx, seg.Id, []string{})
+			var err error
+			if verifyData && segmentsToDownload[seg.Id] {
+				// Download check (Body)
+				_, err = usenetPool.Body(checkCtx, seg.Id, io.Discard, []string{})
+			} else {
+				// Stat check
+				_, err = usenetPool.Stat(checkCtx, seg.Id, []string{})
+			}
+
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("segment with ID %s unreachable: %w", seg.Id, err)
 			}
@@ -102,6 +143,7 @@ func ValidateSegmentAvailabilityDetailed(
 	poolManager pool.Manager,
 	maxConnections int,
 	samplePercentage int,
+	verifyData bool,
 	progressTracker progress.ProgressTracker,
 	timeout time.Duration,
 ) (ValidationResult, error) {
@@ -135,6 +177,37 @@ func ValidateSegmentAvailabilityDetailed(
 	// We use a channel to collect missing IDs to avoid locking
 	missingChan := make(chan string, len(segmentsToValidate))
 
+	// Determine which segments need FULL download verification if verifyData is enabled
+	segmentsToDownload := make(map[string]bool)
+	if verifyData {
+		// First segment
+		if len(segments) > 0 {
+			segmentsToDownload[segments[0].Id] = true
+		}
+		// Last segment
+		if len(segments) > 1 {
+			segmentsToDownload[segments[len(segments)-1].Id] = true
+		}
+		// Random sample of ~18 others from the SELECTED segments
+		candidates := make([]string, 0, len(segmentsToValidate))
+		for _, s := range segmentsToValidate {
+			if !segmentsToDownload[s.Id] {
+				candidates = append(candidates, s.Id)
+			}
+		}
+
+		if len(candidates) > 0 {
+			perm := rand.Perm(len(candidates))
+			count := 18
+			if count > len(candidates) {
+				count = len(candidates)
+			}
+			for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
+				segmentsToDownload[candidates[perm[i]]] = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Validate segments concurrently with connection limit
 	// We don't use WithFirstError because we want to check all selected segments
 	pl := concpool.New().WithErrors().WithMaxGoroutines(maxConnections)
@@ -144,7 +217,15 @@ func ValidateSegmentAvailabilityDetailed(
 			checkCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, timeout)
 			defer cancel()
 
-			_, err := usenetPool.Stat(checkCtx, seg.Id, []string{})
+			var err error
+			if verifyData && segmentsToDownload[seg.Id] {
+				// Download check (Body)
+				_, err = usenetPool.Body(checkCtx, seg.Id, io.Discard, []string{})
+			} else {
+				// Stat check
+				_, err = usenetPool.Stat(checkCtx, seg.Id, []string{})
+			}
+
 			if err != nil {
 				atomic.AddInt32(&missingCount, 1)
 				missingChan <- seg.Id