<p>As many as 40% of all resumes may be fraudulent, estimates of a 6% rise in resume fraud during the past three years, according to a survey conducted by Menlo Park, California-based AccounTemps. </p>
<p id="E141">In considering just how far an applicant could go and to what lengths a potential applicant might go to ensure their submitted career documents get looked at by a real persona and better yet land them the job is as varied as there are applicants for a particular position.</p>
<p>The New York Times bestseller “Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are” authored by Seth-Stephens-Davidowitz, a Harvard trained economist and former Google data scientist, argues the fact that everyone indeed does lie and why, but much more interesting to our point how data mining can actually reveal a person’s true identity: what people really think, what they really want, and what they really do.</p>
<p id="E173">In today’s high tech world of big data and disruptive technology, real-time and factual information is golden.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="947" height="351" src="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/Initial-Screening.jpg" alt="Fraudulent Applicants" class="wp-image-9906" title="Fraudulent Applicants" srcset="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/Initial-Screening.jpg 947w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/Initial-Screening-300x111.jpg 300w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/Initial-Screening-768x285.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 947px) 100vw, 947px" /></figure>
<p id="E181">The bots can only do so much. There is a limit to AI but let us not overlook the value of big data in building candidate profiles.</p>
<h2>Initial Screening</h2>
<p id="E189">So what is the information that job candidates most often misrepresent on their resumes? For starters: employment histories, skills, aptitudes, education, and training records, as well as salary specifics all, make the shortlist. To check the validity of an applicants’ claims it’s recommended that all viable applicants undergo an initial phone screening.</p>
<p id="E193">Without turning this into too much of a witch hunt, recruiters and hiring managers should always be on the lookout for red flags such as unexplained gaps in employment, a reluctance to explain the reason for leaving a job and unusual periods of self-employment.</p>
<h2>Thorough Background Checks</h2>
<p>Always corroborate applicant information by calling references and conducting thorough social media checks. As a good due diligence process recruiters should always remain on guard surrounding falsified reference information or that the fact they could be contacting fraudulent references.</p>
<p id="E211">Candidates submitting a false resumé understand that companies and recruitment agencies search for candidates through online job boards using keyword searching algorithms. This information is mainstream now. They also know that to end up on top they need to match as many keywords as possible, so they add skills to their resumes that are commonly searched for by companies.</p>
<h2 id="E173">Facts That Might Surprise:</h2>
<p>1. Experts estimate that 20% to over 50% of job applicants lie to embellish their credentials. <em>TheBalance.com</em></p>
<p>2. At least 1/3 of all resumes received by large organizations were either fraudulent or lacking in vital information. <em>Workforce.com</em></p>
<p>3. There are more than 400 diploma mills in operation within North America, with another 300 websites offering counterfeit diplomas online. <em>Wikipedia</em></p>
<p>4. Globally there are more than 3,204 unaccredited universities and diploma mills. <em>DataFlow Group</em></p>
<p>With the combination of tech-savvy and sophisticated printers and copiers, cheap production of fake vital documents is easier than ever. Inexpensive mass production capabilities and increased demand for fraudulent educational certifications have given rise to the proliferation of diploma mills. These “mills” are institutions of higher education operating without the guidance of a state-funded agency or professional association that churn out fraudulent degrees, diplomas, and certificate among other certifications; they run amuck online once you know where to look.</p>
<h2>Barriers to Verification </h2>
<p id="E285">There is considerable competition for a finite amount of equitable and available job opening. This creates a very uneasy job market, a problem that proliferates as the job market shrinks. And to make matters worse there is a “black market” out there that is willing to sell fraudulent degrees, diplomas, and all manner of certification documents for the right price.</p>
<p id="E306">Last but not least another major difficulty in spotting fraudulent documents remains shrouded in the veil of military time served and involvement; the use of military references can be tricky to navigate for recruiters stopping them from pursuing more applicant verification information.</p>
<p>The best way to eliminate difficulties in spotting fraudulent submissions is by making Primary Source Verification (PSV) mandatory in the screening process of all applicants. PSV is the verification from the original source of a specific credential (education, training, and licensure) to determine the accuracy of the qualifications.”</p>
<h2 id="E323"><a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/dataflow-dfgcorp/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/12115833/UK-NARIC-Verifying-Qualifications-Reducing-Risk-Paper.pdf">DataFlow Groups’ Approach to PSV</a></h2>
<p id="E329">The DataFlow Group utilizes cutting-edge technologies, leverages an expansive network of issuing entities and establishes alliances with key partners across the globe to conduct hundreds of thousands of PSV transactions for individuals each year on behalf of various governments, quasi-government, regulatory and large multinational organizations worldwide.</p>