How to Recognize Fake Candidates and Other Recruiting-Related Scams

The Ashby team has seen an uptick in recruiting-related fraud and scams. At talent leader events and programming, we’re hearing about a massive uptick in recruiting teams dealing with fake job candidates, especially with the rise of virtual interviews over in-person touch points in the hiring process.

While the space is evolving quickly, especially in the tech industry, I wanted to use my perspective in security to help increase awareness and publish some information that can help identify common issues and, in the worst cases, actual scammers.

While there is a whole category of discussion around candidates who misrepresent their skills or work history (think artificial intelligence generated responses to technical assessments), this post specifically focuses on recruiters or candidates with a fraudulent identity. For the former, consider listening to our Offer Accepted podcast episode: Safeguarding Interviews from ChatGPT Misuse.

Scam #1: Fake Job Boards

The name, address, and identity of legit businesses are used to post fake job postings and attract candidates. Often, compromised email accounts of real businesses are used for this purpose. A number of open jobs will be posted with the goal to attract as many candidates as possible. After a short interview process, the candidates are asked to submit their personal information or buy new hire equipment (with promise of later reimbursement).

Red flags/how to recognize:

• Jobs openings lack details/are very generic
• The open jobs are inconsistent with the business (e.g. a small shop having 20 jobs open)
• Interviews/screening process is only conducted over chat or virtual interviews (primarily MS Teams), there’s no video interview or if there is, the camera is off
• Job seeker is asked for personally identifiable information (SSN, etc.) or asked to buy new hire equipment from a website provided, with a promise of getting a reimbursement check later
• The Reimbursement check sent is higher than the amount spent. The “hire” is then asked to send the difference back

Scam #2: Fake Recruiters

Just as important as the legitimacy of the job board is vetting the individuals you’re interacting with. Fake recruiters similarly trick job seekers to provide sensitive information or utilize them for other fraud, such as by conducting interviews on their behalf or using their identity to then go and get a job. One could think of it as catfishing for job opportunities through learning more about your work history and years of experience.

Red flags/how to recognize:

• Primarily reached out to via networks like LinkedIn
• Primarily looking for online/part-time workers
• “Recruiter” has a very low number of LinkedIn profile connections
• Wants to switch conversation to Whatsapp or is requesting a phone number
• Does not want to share the job description or future staffing needs on the initial communication channel
• Uses Stock photo on their LinkedIn profile

Scam #3: Fake Candidates

Fraudulent candidates related to North Korea have been over the news, though Ashby and our extended talent community have seen an uptick in reports of fake/fraudulent candidates.

These references have some detailed useful information that’s worth reading. 

• Office of Public Affairs
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• NISOS Intelligence Company
• Security Awareness Training Blog

Recognizing fake candidates early in the process saves time and potential trouble later. 

Red flags/how to recognize:

• Often the applicants have a background in web/mobile applications, multiple programming languages, and blockchain technology
• Applicant’s accounts (LinkedIn, Github, etc.) only contain very basic information. 
• Discrepancies in number of LinkedIn profile connections not being consistent with the length of their pretended career 
• Some of the information on resumes is copied from real individuals or top talent 
• Personal social media profiles are missing
• Candidates are looking for remote jobs only and refuse to travel at all (not even team gatherings)
• Primary accent not consistent with information provided. Example: Pretended to be native Irish person but had a strong accent that was clearly not Irish
• Camera is off during interviews or technical assessments
• Past companies might not be available anymore for reference checks
• After hire, request is to ship laptop to a different address than the one previously provided
• Installation of remote management software to allow remote work

How Recruiters and Hiring Managers Can Safeguard the Recruitment Process

You may be wondering: What is the point of fake candidates anyways, and why is it such a big topic that even the FBI is commenting on it? First off, there is a wide spectrum of applicant fraud.

Sometimes the identity the job seeker is applying under is real (just not theirs) with the simple goal of making it to the interview process. In other cases, there's more elaborate identity theft where a foreign actor who wouldn't qualify for a job on their own name will use a stolen identity to get through a verification process. And in some cases, they're making up profiles or entire candidate’s resume to conduct espionage, circumvent sanctions or scam the hiring company.

For example, some companies will send a new hire a laptop before the background check clears (or in this case doesn't) and they sell that equipment for cash. Or a newly hired engineer gets access to confidential code and customer data that then results in a data breach or hold the company to ransom.

Ways to safeguard:

While we watch the space and recommendations evolve, here are a few ways we recommend as well as a few we’ve heard other recruiting teams implement.

• Make sure the interview process involves on-camera interviews
• Verify prior employment history thoroughly
• Conduct reference calls on-camera and check legitimacy of references provided
• Complete background checks before any equipment is sent or company information is shared
• For in-office teams, consider requiring an in-person step in the recruitment process