7 Ways to Spot Fraudulent Candidates

Remote work options and virtual hiring have brought great ease into the hiring process as employers now have easy access to talent pools around the world. Unfortunately, this opportunity has greatly increased the possibility of fraud. Recruiters across the country have experienced countless crazy stories involving fraudulent candidates.

Recruiting teams estimate that 15-20% of candidates are dishonest in the way they present themselves. This deception may involve inaccurate resume content, creating a perception they are a US candidate while working outside of the country or even working concurrently for multiple organizations.

The talent acquisition team at Skywalk Global has developed a few simple screening tips to help detect these fraudsters. These 7 tips are easy to implement and highly effective for your organization’s recruitment efforts.

Here are 7 key questions and indicators that help detect fraudulent candidates.

1. Is the country of residence verified? – Before hiring candidates in a remote work set-up, the country of residence, should be verified. The best way to do that is by checking their travel history on the i94 website (https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home) using the candidate’s passport number and date of birth. It is a sure-shot way to detect candidates living outside of the US while creating the perception they are working in the country.
2. Is the candidate on LinkedIn? – Another great tip is to look them up on LinkedIn. Genuine job seekers would be present on LinkedIn with details that closely resemble their resumes. Also, check the recommendations, endorsements, and comments on their posts. Look at the number of connections on their profile as well and if they are a 10-year professional with 15 connections, it may be a sign the profile is not genuine. A good rule of thumb is to eliminate all candidates without a LinkedIn presence.
3. Is a resume well formatted? – If a candidate’s resume is not formatted and utilizes different fonts or contains numerous spelling errors – it may be a big red flag. Fraudsters often copy-paste details and job responsibilities from the internet and overlook the finer details.
4. Are there short job durations or employment gaps? – Candidates having a history of job-hopping with short durations across their resumes rarely transpire into rockstar candidates. Organizations find a way to retain good resources and while short durations for good candidates do occur, they are the exception and not the norm.
5. Are there legit companies/clients listed on a resume? – A simple Google check on an organization’s registration number, registration date and physical address could validate whether the company is fake or not. Fake candidates often mention their consulting firms’ names or non-registered companies as their clients.
6. Is a candidate moonlighting with two jobs? – There are a few ways recruiters can detect candidates unlawfully working two jobs. Checking references with the current employer is the safest approach but this may not always be an option. After a candidate is selected, it is important to request they update their LinkedIn within 2 weeks of starting their new opportunity. Remind them appropriately and if a candidate refuses, it is a red flag that he may be attempting to work for multiple opportunities simultaneously.
7. Are you still unsure about finding genuine applicants? – In this scenario, the best tip is to utilize the services of staffing firm partners. Recruiting talent has always been challenging and in the virtual hiring process, it is more difficult than ever. Staffing firms can be great resources to help achieve your organization’s business goals by ensuring you hire genuine candidates.

Hope this checklist put together by Skywalk Global helps you identify fake applicants and find the right candidate.