Lies, Damn Lies, and Resume Fraud

Welcome to the June 2026 edition of our newsletter!  In this issue, we’ll examine new ways candidates are embellishing, and sometimes fabricating, qualifications to get noticed in today’s low-hire, low-fire job market.

Faking It Until You Make It: Types of Resume Fraud

False or embellished claims about job duties, titles, or qualifications are nothing new, but the arrival of artificial intelligence is making it easier to carry out various resume inflation schemes.  While most AI programs fall back on linguistic flourishes that can be their own kind of tell, they can also help a candidate throw enough verbiage out to make thin accomplishments seem more relevant or impressive than they are.

The old methods of resume puffery are very much intact: each year, we come across at least a few candidates who obtained bogus degrees from “diploma mills” which, often for no more than a credit card authorization, will grant the customer a Ph.D. or other advanced degree.  In another instance, a candidate claimed to have a degree from a real school, but when the student failed to show up in the registrar’s records, the diploma they provided listed the name of the school’s chancellor … from 1921.

Verify, Then Maybe Trust: What You Can Do

Many qualifications, such as professional licensing, can be verified directly by state or county agencies overseeing architects, engineers, and other skilled trades.  The process of verifying student degrees is a bit more complex due to FERPA regulations (sometimes requiring student consent), but in addition to contacting the school registrar, looking for a copy of a school commencement program can be helpful, as it would indicate that the candidate was scheduled to complete a given degree program.

Discreet inquiries to a candidate’s former employer can help, but here too, the rules favor the candidate’s privacy, and a past employer’s human resources department is likely to only disclose the dates of employment and job titles held.  Speaking with former colleagues, and former supervisors, is the best way to ascertain how well a candidate actually did his job.  Finally, comparing a candidate’s submitted resume to LinkedIn and other social media can help identify inconsistencies which can be a sign of deceptive intent.

Bringing new talent onboard is an essential part of company growth and success.  Investing time and resources into candidate screening is a necessary step toward making sure your workforce is aligned toward common goals and acting in good faith.