How Do You Spot and Stop Fake Resumes and Companies in Hiring? Let's Share Strategies!

Dear All,

Very strangely, I came across a candidate who showed on his resume that he has experience as a SAS programmer for 3 years with a company called Adios in Pune. It's a fake consultancy, according to my sources.

We checked with the HR people of their client based in Mumbai. They said they don't have any SAS programmer department. Phew, we were saved. This candidate also presented false documents from the client's place, which were 5 years old, as per the HR.

How can we protect ourselves from such frauds? Reference checks have become very important.

In fact, I also encountered a CV that mentions he's been working with my company as a SAS Programmer for 2 years. How can we stop this?

Please reply, guys. Let's all come together to solve this kind of fraud.

Regards,
Geeta:huh:

Hi,

It's somewhat difficult to trace out which companies are real and which are fake nowadays. Even the verification department can't bring those to light.

Vijay

Hi Geeta,

The industry is facing a grave situation with an alarming increase in candidates fudging resumes and faking employments. Due to the increase in the number of unemployed educated youth in the markets and the industry insisting on work experience, candidates are forced to lie.

We have also encountered similar problems, but they can be identified if the recruitment and selection process is strictly laid out. For starters, in the HR interview, you can probe deeper into the company profile and colleagues working with him and insist on an office landline and official mail-ID for references.

Background or reference checks through third parties have become mandatory. They conduct checks on educational and family backgrounds, professional and police verification, and these organizations do a fairly good job in identifying such fake candidatures.

Importantly, even if such a candidate gets onboard, he would be in the probationary period, and eventually, his work performance will expose him. If he is an absolute fresher and has faked his work experience, the reporting manager would identify the same, and you can take the appropriate action.

A fake candidate can gain entry into an organization if the selection criteria have any loopholes, but sustaining is a matter of question.

Regards,
Preeti

I had this idea sometime back. That is, if any job portal can come up with a strategy that a person needs to undergo an official verification process before he uploads his resume, then it would be a good way to stop fake percentages.

I mean, if he is an experienced candidate, he needs to provide his official email ID, which would be verified first by the recruiters.

If he is a fresher, then generally you need not look for verification.

In our organization, we follow this process. We have an online application for the current jobs present. A candidate has to fill in that application to apply for a job. There we ask for his official email ID as well.

So, it becomes easy for us to track if he is working with the same company or not, in the initial stage only.

But by this way also, only 50% of fakes can be identified as many people may not be interested in giving their official email ID. However, people who are genuine, fill out the application boldly.

I have hired a good number of candidates this way. I hope this solution would help...

Comments are appreciated...

Regards, Karuna

To check if the candidate is available in real-time, I simply ask the candidate for their work email and desk number. I will then send a text email to them and request a reply. If I receive a response, I will proceed to verify the company details. I strictly follow this process.

Karuna, you have really come up with a good idea, but again it all depends on whether the candidate really wants to or can reveal his official email ID. Genuine candidates will never give a second thought to it. At the same time, it varies from company to company and the profile the candidate is in. For example, if there is a trainee whose job profile does not require a separate email ID, they might not possess one.

For present employer reference check of an employee, what you can really do is find out through the net or helplines whether that company really exists, then get the contact number, try to talk to anyone from the company. If not about his performance, you will get an idea whether the candidate is employed there or not.

For ex-company reference check:- Follow the same procedure, but for performance details, talk to HR or maybe the reporting authority.

Regards, Minal Udenia

Hey all,

Thanks for your feedback. We have been asking candidates to provide their official IDs, but there are a few employees who don't do so because their emails are monitored. Every incoming and outgoing email is traced. This is the case in my company as well. We encountered a significant issue when people used the internet for personal matters, leading to numerous viruses infecting our systems. Consequently, we have strictly instructed employees not to disclose their official email IDs to anyone.

Additionally, we do not share information with reference check companies. Instead, we conduct reference checks internally through the HR department, providing firsthand information. These external companies typically verify only basic details, as many HR professionals do not provide extensive information about former employees.

When inquiries come directly from the HR department, responses differ. This approach enabled me to uncover a case involving fake documents and a fictitious company. Reference check companies usually do not delve into client details but rather contact direct employers, where I obtained a reliable reference for this candidate.

In the case of hiring freshers - even though we do not currently hire freshers - I recommend conducting reference checks on their educational background. There are instances of forged documents for MBAs, BEs, and graduation certificates.

Thank you all for your feedback.

Regards,
Geeta

Dear All,

Very strangely, I came across a candidate who showed on his resume that he has experience as a SAS programmer for 3 years with a company called Adios in Pune. It's a fake consultancy, as per my sources. We checked with the HR people of their client based in Mumbai. They said they don't have any SAS programmer's Department. Phew, we were saved. This candidate also got false documents from the client's place, which were 5 years old, according to the HR.

How can we save ourselves from such frauds? Reference checks have become very important. In fact, I also came across a CV which mentions that he's working with my company as a SAS Programmer for 2 years. How can we stop this? Please reply, guys. Let's all come together to solve this kind of frauds.

Regards,
Geeta:huh:

Hi Geeta,

A solution for this problem is going to be launched in a few months. Our company is launching a website where employee details are uploaded by the employer, not by an employee. It is going to work along the lines of "CIBIL." Authenticity is guaranteed as the details are submitted by the employer. For further information, wait for a few days. Our team will be approaching every organization to give a presentation on how it works.

Regards,
Muralidhar
Resource Foyer

Hi, Karuna.

It's not a big problem to determine whether the resume is false or the company is fake. When you see any experience listed on a resume, you can verify the details available on the resume. Nowadays, all details are typically available on the internet. If you notice any discrepancies in the resume, check the experience-related information online. If you find any false information, just discard the resume.

The same applies when dealing with a fake company. Okay, bye. But, Karuna, it's nice that you found that point. Thank you.

Hi all,

It's not a big deal. While interviewing the candidate, you can come to a conclusion about whether the resume is fake or not. Before interviewing the candidate, the interviewer has to go through the profile and collect information about the candidate's company and the project. If the interviewer has any doubts about the profile, they can gather this information from the internet, by contacting the company directly, or through any references.

Keeping all these points in mind, the interviewer should start the interview by asking questions related to the information collected. This approach will give the candidate the impression that the interviewer is well-informed about their company. Additionally, the interviewer can inquire about the candidate's client list, reporting structure, role on the project, project details, project duration, official email, official contact number, employee number, etc.

Based on how the candidate responds and reacts during the interview, the interviewer can make a decision. It may not be easy for someone new to the recruitment field, but with practice, it can be achieved.

Regards,
Don

Dear All,

I am Adv. Jayant, LL.M. It is generally very difficult to find such experience. The best solution is to conduct a rigorous interview of the candidate. Nowadays, many new organizations emerge in the market and also close down. Due to this, it is very challenging to identify such factors. Furthermore, we cannot take any action against such occurrences as they may impact the person's career path. At times in life, such situations may be inevitable.

Best Regards,
Jayant.

Dear Karunas,

Your solution, which is an online process, is good. Professional background checks are also a good solution. In the US Embassy, they call the references while you are sitting there [literally!]. Maybe you can do that.

With Regards,

V. Sounder Rajan

E-mail: rajanassociates@eth.net, rajanassociateslawfirm@gmail.com

Hi,

Some candidates do hesitate to provide their official email id if their current employer finds out that they are looking for a new job, as it could pose a threat to them. The best approach is to call and verify. I work for an embedded/semiconductor company, so I mostly recruit candidates through headhunting, and 99% of them are secure.

Greets,
Ram

Hey, new problem here...

The candidates are from consultancies and are on a contract basis with the companies they are working in. The company where they are working doesn't have information about the contract employees.

Please let me know if the employers do keep records of the employees who are on a contract basis.

-Geeta

Hi Geeta,

Employers do not usually conduct verification checks for contract hires, especially if the hiring is done through a third party. This is because they have the flexibility to terminate the contract at any time if the candidate underperforms, and the employer does not bear any liability in such cases.

In your situation, I recommend that you inquire directly with the consultancy to verify if the candidate in question was indeed employed by them. For further scrutiny, you may request the candidate to provide the email ID of their reporting manager from the company where they worked and verify the information with them. Additionally, you can cross-reference the details provided by the candidate with their bank statement to confirm the accuracy of the CTC information.

I hope these suggestions prove helpful.

Regards,
Sonu

Normally, in tech interviews, we can evaluate a candidate's real-time experience with the projects mentioned. There are cases where the candidate may provide an official ID of the company, or there are companies willing to provide fake certificates and entirely false details. If a candidate has a friend in a reputable company with the same name, they often use that email ID.

CV frauds are becoming more common, and companies have begun full-fledged checks on senior employees' CVs for BGV. This link from Economic Times highlights the development: [CV fraud: Companies increase screening at senior level - The Economic Times](http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/cv-fraud-companies-increase-screening-at-senior-level/articleshow/49053461.cms)

Totally avoidable. Employees must not embellish their CVs by writing lies and half-truths.

Solution to Resume Fraud: Past Employment Verification

Resume fraud is a problem that many companies are facing. However, there is a solution to this problem, in fact, a reliable one - past employment verification. It is a process that deals with the validation of a potential employee's work history, which includes their work experience, companies served in the past, and other employment-related details. Past employment verification is a great solution when it comes to determining whether the employment details provided by a candidate are genuine or not.

As for carrying out past employment verification, it is not a problem, thanks to online verification tools available nowadays. I personally use this online tool called Verified Resources to validate my current and prospective employees' details. Automating past employment verification, it delivers rapid and accurate results that help me make the right hiring decisions.

Here is the link to Verified Resources: www.verifiedresources.com

You can try using it. I'm sure it will be of great help to you.

Thanks,

Meesha