High Profile Criminal Cases of Recruitment Fraud
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, petrol prices ballooned worldwide, increasing inflation and the number of desperate job seekers. Through fake job postings, criminals exploit such individuals and get involved in recruitment fraud.
Several cases of talent acquisition fraud have been witnessed in the recent past encouraging global law enforcement authorities to take firm action against them. Let’s have a look at some of the high-profile cases:
1. Europol Arrested a Gang Involved in €20 Million Employment Fraud
In 2021, law enforcement authorities of the European Union dismantled a gang which was involved in an employment scam. The criminals were offering fake jobs in the construction sector to labourers while demanding an initial fee to pay.
It has been estimated that they illegally stole €20 million from the people in a few years, urging authorities to take strict action against them after the victims filed multiple complaints. The case is still in court, where their penalties are yet to be decided.
2. Hampton Gang Member Convicted for Pandemic Employment Fraud
Law enforcement authorities in the US have arrested a criminal for his involvement in a pandemic-related employment fraud. The Police have also stated that the criminal has a whole gang behind him, and they are trying to bring them under the law as well.
As per the investigation, the criminal was taking money from people to get jobs for them by submitting fake documents to various companies. The court has sentenced him to 27 months in jail and vowed to take down the whole gang working behind him.
Talent Acquisition Fraud and the Role of Law Enforcement Authorities
Due to the rising cases of recruitment scams across the globe resulting in financial losses of millions of dollars, law enforcement authorities of various jurisdictions are taking stringent action against criminals.
1. FBI Issued Instructions to Avoid Employment Scam
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned people to beware of cyber criminals using fake job listings to target applicants’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
FBI has instructed the common people to only apply for jobs through the official channels of companies and not pay attention to any emails, phone calls or messages received through unofficial accounts.
Employment fraud has been termed as a potential crime by the FBI, costing US citizens $59 million in 2020. The authorities have also instructed citizens not to provide any sensitive personal details like bank accounts, social security or identification number to any job recruiter through emails or phone calls.
2. UK Government – Raising Awareness of Employment Scams
The UK government has also taken drastic steps to guide their citizens about employment scams and how to avoid them. It has been strongly recommended that people apply for jobs only through the official portals or companies’ websites.
In their detailed guidance, the government has also guided job seekers to verify any email, phone call or message through certain checks, including verifying all details from the company’s websites.
It has also been instructed to the people not to proceed with any job application asking for money or any other personal details from you and not even open any spam link attached to the email.
How Shufti Pro can Help
With transforming technologies, the overall market is growing to produce more job opportunities for interested candidates. As per the surveys, this number is expected to grow in the coming years, increasing recruitment fraud risks.
Through talent acquisition scams, criminals not only defraud job seekers but also damage the reputation of established companies. So it is in their higher interest to find and implement a credible solution that efficiently mitigates the risks of stolen identity or credentials.
Shufti Pro’s identity verification services present an ideal option to counter this problem through its advanced identification features, including document authentication, facial recognition and address verification.
Want to learn more about identity verification services for eliminating recruitment fraud?
