diff --git a/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh b/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh
index 51dd4fee..b82b5d93 100644
--- a/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh
+++ b/usr/local/share/bastille/verify.sh
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ verify_template() {
             ## line count must match newline count
             # shellcheck disable=SC2046
             # shellcheck disable=SC3003
-            if [ $(wc -l "${_path}" | awk '{print $1}') -ne $(grep -c '\n' "${_path}") ]; then
+            if [ $(wc -l "${_path}" | awk '{print $1}') -ne "$(tr -d -c '\n' < "${_path}" | wc -c)" ]; then
                 info "[${_hook}]:"
                 error_notify "${BASTILLE_TEMPLATE}:${_hook} [failed]."
                 error_notify "Line numbers don't match line breaks."