Recruitment fraud – a danger for individuals and businesses
Recruitment fraud – a danger for individuals and businesses
There have been many published debates about whether the end of the COVID pandemic would trigger large numbers of people to leave their jobs in a trend referred to as the “Great Resignation” and the extent to which any such trend is now over. Whatever the outcome of this debate, there has been an uptick in the number of individuals recruited in the UK, possibly triggered by the shift in the way we work because of the impact of the pandemic.
While businesses are trying to attract the right candidates, many individuals are searching for roles that fit a more flexible lifestyle. We should not lose sight of the fact that on both sides of the recruitment process fraudsters are always looking for new ways to scam their victims.
What is recruitment fraud?
For individuals, it may involve being targeted by fake recruiters, either by email, phone or using social media networks with fake job listings or offerings in a bid to defraud them of their personal information and/or money.
For businesses, while it is also about money, it can involve fraudsters spoofing/imitating business brands to post fake jobs to get individuals to divulge personal information or for access to money. It can also involve jobseekers misrepresenting their qualifications and records for the main purpose of gaining employment fraudulently. There are reported cases of fraudsters being offered employment based upon fraudulent misrepresentation, which is only discovered after they have already fleeced the business out of millions.
Recruitment frauds are widespread and far-reaching, ranging from Axact, whose company’s website states that they are the “world’s leading IT company” and was shut down in 2018 for issuing more than 3000 fake qualifications to UK purchasers (215,000 globally), with one spending almost £500,000 on fake documents according to a BBC report. There are also published reports of a recruitment boss who ran the company Recruitment Geeks Group Ltd, in Plymouth that was jailed earlier in 2023 for amongst other things, inventing employer details and people who did not exist, and creating fictitious job placements with major companies such as Jaguar Land Rover to access bridging loans to the tune of £1.6m, over a 21-month period.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD), People Management publication cited that before the pandemic, recruitment fraud costs businesses around £23 billion annually. Taking recruitment fraud seriously protects your businesses against potentially massive financial losses and reputational damage.
There are many useful resources available to help individuals identify and avoid recruitment scams. However, less emphasis is placed on reducing the numbers of businesses potentially impacted. The balance of this article focuses on how your business can prevent recruitment fraud.Preventing recruitment fraud in your business
Understanding how and why you need to check the jobseeker’s identity and supporting documents is the first line of action. Other key ways your businesses can proactively prevent being victim to fraudulent jobseekers or your organisation’s details and brands being used fictitiously include the following:
- Undertaking in-depth pre-employment screening such as:
- open-source internet checks;
- independently contact personal and professional references provided;
- checking that documents provided to you are genuine and valid; and
- where budgets allow, with the rise of Deepfake technology consider implementing identity verification solution supported by generative AI.
- On your company’s website:
- Warn jobseekers about recruitment fraud and provide advice on how to spot it.
- Be precise about your business’ job application process, setting out the step-by-step process.
- Provide information for a direct line of communication, whether it is a telephone number, access link or email address for jobseekers to make enquiries with your HR/recruitment teams.
- Keeping all your HR and/or recruitment teams apprised of the latest fraud trends and prevention tips through training and raising awareness about helpful information that can be found in the UK Government’s and, agency websites, such as Action Fraud.
- Undertaking a fraud risk assessment of your business’ current recruitment policies and processes.
Fraudulent hires can lead to a range of outcomes from taking on incompetent staff and triggering high staff turnover to your business becoming a victim of financial crime, which can prove catastrophic, whether financially or reputationally. The most effective businesses invest in proactively preventing such frauds from occurring rather than waiting to fall victim and then responding.
One constant in the fight against fraud is that the methods for committing fraud continue to evolve at a fast pace, because fraudsters are always looking for new ways to deceive their targets.
Do not be a victim, stay one step ahead!
We are here to help
Our team is here to help if your business:
- has been impacted as part of a recruitment scam;
- needs help with identifying potential recruitment scams and how to avoid them; or
- would like advice on how to undertake a fraud risk assessment of your current HR/Recruitment policies or any wider fraud concerns within your business.