  Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a fundamental technique for the analysis
of surfaces. In the present work, the interface statistics of surfaces scanned
with a probe tip was analyzed for both \textit{in silico} and experimental
systems that \textit{do not} belong to the prominent Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ)
universality class. We show that height, local roughness and extremal height
distributions of scanned surfaces quantitatively agree with the KPZ class in a
range similar or better than recent experimental evidences of the KPZ class
using SPM images. The underlying mechanism behind this artificial KPZ class is
the finite size of the probe tip, which does not permit a full resolution of
neither deep valleys or sloping borders of plateaus. The net result is a
scanned profile laterally thicker and higher than the original one implying an
excess growth, the major characteristic of the KPZ universality class. The
actual universality class of self-affine scanned surfaces are expected at long
times when the characteristic surface lengths become much larger than those of
the probe tip but our finds can be of relevance to experiments where
sufficiently long growth times cannot be easily achieved. We also propose that
the KPZ signatures can be also elicited in mounded surfaces with high aspect
ratio due to the interaction with the bulk of the probe tip. Strategies to
prevent false positives of the KPZ class are discussed.
