Employment Fraud to Watch Out for in 2022
An experienced business strategist and a semiconductor engineer, Ashok is helping the tech industry grow with people having identification and authenti cation for solving tough problems and provide core engineering solutions.
The year 2021 saw the industry adapt to Covid induced lockdowns and its ramifications on work life.
Work from home is now an accepted norm so much so that it has its own cool acronym(WFH). There are companies that have already announced a permanent WFH model while others have created hybrid models.
Video interviews are now so ubiquitous that candidates are often surprised when they are called for an in person interview.
In times of such sudden behavioral and technological change, it is not surprising to see some people trying to exploit loopholes to defraud the system.
Here are 3 emerging employment fraud types you need to protect yourself from in 2022.
1.Dual Employment Fraud
The origin
With employees not required to show up in the office every day, some Smart Alecs are taking up two jobs at the same time and somehow managing to keep them too.
Dual employment fraud has certain distinct traits. One, this is more likely to be committed by someone below 30 years of age. Two, this has a higher incidence in technology jobs like software development and support.
Worrying factors
It's important for companies to prevent dual employment fraud
•Conflict of interest. Your employee could actually be working for your competitor too.
•Commitment issues. You cannot expect loyalty, honesty, and commitment from a person who is holding another job on top of yours.
•Susceptibility to fraud: There's a higher chance of data breaches and theft of company assets by an employee with lower commitment levels.
Solution
EPF Check Checking a person's Provident Fund data can help companies detect someone on their rolls holding dual employment.
2.Impersonation Fraud
The origin
Yes video interviews are convenient and efficient. But these advantages come with a long list of limitations that dishonest people have exploited to their advantage.
Companies have discovered, often far too late, that the person that joined the organisation is different from the one who attended the interview. Typically, this type of fraud is seen in large organisations where the interviewer is often different from the reporting manager. This is also more common in organisations with offices spread across the country with people joining in different cities at any point in time.
Worrying factors
Generally, an organisation wakes up to an incidence of this fraud when they realise a person is showing none of the skills required to perform on their job. When they dig deeper they realise that the person was rated highly on the same skills during the interview. Further digging deeper makes them realise that a totally different person may have joined from the one that was interviewed.
Solution
You can prevent this fraud using a few APIs during the interview and when the candidate joins. At the start of the interview, the candidate should be asked to show their ID card. A screenshot of the ID card can be taken along with a picture of the candidate. OCR APIs can extract the ID card information and compare it with the application form to ensure that they match.
Face Compare APIs can compare the picture of the candidate with the picture of the ID card to ensure they are of the same person. With this one can ensure that the person attending the interview is the one who applied for the job. When the person joins the company, Face Compare APIs can compare their picture with the picture of the candidate taken during the interview. With this one can make sure that the person joining is the same as the one who attended the interview.
3.Absconding With Company Assets
The origin
With people joining their new jobs remotely, companies are sending assets to their homes. During these times, the person might continue working in the company without ever visiting their offices or meeting co-workers.
Companies have reported that sometimes such a person simply vanishes into thin air. Emails go unanswered. The phone remains switched off. The home address appears locked.
Along with the person, what also vanishes are the assets that were sent by the company. Laptops and cell phones being the most common casualties.
Worrying factors
•Data theft:A person who steals company assets is most likely to also steal company data and trade secrets.
•Loss of corporate assets:The financial loss of these assets that can multiply if this becomes a more common phenomenon.
Solution
Criminal record check Most people committing this type of fraud are repeat offenders. A criminal records check that combines court records and police records is a must to prevent this fraud. However, this comes with limitations. Most police checks are done with the local police station only. This type of fraudster typically moves homes regularly, often in areas far away from each other. The local police station check may not prove conclusive.
Everyone in the modern world is adopting tech driven solutions to solve challenges posed by the pandemic. New methods of hiring and interviewing candidates are effective but they bring into picture newer types of employment fraud. The good part is that technology is available to solve problems created by these innovations. It would be fair to say that technology is keeping technology safe.
The year 2021 saw the industry adapt to Covid induced lockdowns and its ramifications on work life.
Work from home is now an accepted norm so much so that it has its own cool acronym(WFH). There are companies that have already announced a permanent WFH model while others have created hybrid models.
Video interviews are now so ubiquitous that candidates are often surprised when they are called for an in person interview.
In times of such sudden behavioral and technological change, it is not surprising to see some people trying to exploit loopholes to defraud the system.
Here are 3 emerging employment fraud types you need to protect yourself from in 2022.
1.Dual Employment Fraud
The origin
With employees not required to show up in the office every day, some Smart Alecs are taking up two jobs at the same time and somehow managing to keep them too.
Dual employment fraud has certain distinct traits. One, this is more likely to be committed by someone below 30 years of age. Two, this has a higher incidence in technology jobs like software development and support.
Everyone in the modern world is adopting tech driven solutions to solve challenges posed by the pandemic
Worrying factors
It's important for companies to prevent dual employment fraud
•Conflict of interest. Your employee could actually be working for your competitor too.
•Commitment issues. You cannot expect loyalty, honesty, and commitment from a person who is holding another job on top of yours.
•Susceptibility to fraud: There's a higher chance of data breaches and theft of company assets by an employee with lower commitment levels.
Solution
EPF Check Checking a person's Provident Fund data can help companies detect someone on their rolls holding dual employment.
2.Impersonation Fraud
The origin
Yes video interviews are convenient and efficient. But these advantages come with a long list of limitations that dishonest people have exploited to their advantage.
Companies have discovered, often far too late, that the person that joined the organisation is different from the one who attended the interview. Typically, this type of fraud is seen in large organisations where the interviewer is often different from the reporting manager. This is also more common in organisations with offices spread across the country with people joining in different cities at any point in time.
Worrying factors
Generally, an organisation wakes up to an incidence of this fraud when they realise a person is showing none of the skills required to perform on their job. When they dig deeper they realise that the person was rated highly on the same skills during the interview. Further digging deeper makes them realise that a totally different person may have joined from the one that was interviewed.
Solution
You can prevent this fraud using a few APIs during the interview and when the candidate joins. At the start of the interview, the candidate should be asked to show their ID card. A screenshot of the ID card can be taken along with a picture of the candidate. OCR APIs can extract the ID card information and compare it with the application form to ensure that they match.
Face Compare APIs can compare the picture of the candidate with the picture of the ID card to ensure they are of the same person. With this one can ensure that the person attending the interview is the one who applied for the job. When the person joins the company, Face Compare APIs can compare their picture with the picture of the candidate taken during the interview. With this one can make sure that the person joining is the same as the one who attended the interview.
3.Absconding With Company Assets
The origin
With people joining their new jobs remotely, companies are sending assets to their homes. During these times, the person might continue working in the company without ever visiting their offices or meeting co-workers.
Companies have reported that sometimes such a person simply vanishes into thin air. Emails go unanswered. The phone remains switched off. The home address appears locked.
Along with the person, what also vanishes are the assets that were sent by the company. Laptops and cell phones being the most common casualties.
Worrying factors
•Data theft:A person who steals company assets is most likely to also steal company data and trade secrets.
•Loss of corporate assets:The financial loss of these assets that can multiply if this becomes a more common phenomenon.
Solution
Criminal record check Most people committing this type of fraud are repeat offenders. A criminal records check that combines court records and police records is a must to prevent this fraud. However, this comes with limitations. Most police checks are done with the local police station only. This type of fraudster typically moves homes regularly, often in areas far away from each other. The local police station check may not prove conclusive.
Everyone in the modern world is adopting tech driven solutions to solve challenges posed by the pandemic. New methods of hiring and interviewing candidates are effective but they bring into picture newer types of employment fraud. The good part is that technology is available to solve problems created by these innovations. It would be fair to say that technology is keeping technology safe.
