Training recruiters to spot fraud

We spoke with TA leaders at companies across industries and tapped our product team, who are building Gem's fraud detection tools. Their take was unanimous: candidate fraud is becoming a systemic threat to hiring operations and company security.

Candidate fraud has moved from an occasional nuisance to a systematic threat. Fraudulent applications now represent a meaningful percentage of applicant pools at many companies, costing organizations time, money, and potentially creating serious security vulnerabilities. 

This blog provides practical strategies to help your recruiting team identify and prevent candidate fraud before it impacts your hiring decisions.

Understanding the fraud landscape

Candidate fraud — the misrepresentation of identity, credentials, experience, or qualifications — has become significantly more sophisticated than simply inflating job titles. Today's fraud landscape spans from fake applicants with AI-generated profiles and fabricated identities to organized or state-sponsored fraud operations employing sophisticated deepfakes that target high-paying tech roles.

Several factors have made 2025 particularly challenging for fraud prevention. Remote hiring eliminated in-person verification touchpoints. AI tools democratized fraud capabilities, making it trivially easy to generate convincing resumes and cover letters. Global talent pools have increased the complexity of verifying international credentials. The business impact extends beyond wasted recruiter time to legal and compliance risks, as well as security vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches.

New to candidate fraud or need a refresher on the basics? Check out our “Candidate fraud 101” blog for a comprehensive overview of what candidate fraud is, why it's surging, and the different types of fraud your team might encounter.

Red flags recruiters should watch for

We spoke with TA leaders currently dealing with fraud. Here are the warning signs your team should be trained to recognize. The key is tracking these patterns across your applicant pool — when you start documenting what fraudulent candidates look like in your specific context, you'll get better at spotting them early.

Resume and application red flags

Inconsistent employment dates or unexplained gaps. While career gaps aren't inherently suspicious, patterns of inconsistency between different versions of a resume or between the resume and LinkedIn profile warrant additional scrutiny.

Vague descriptions lacking specific achievements or metrics. Legitimate candidates can typically provide concrete examples of their work. Descriptions that rely heavily on buzzwords without substantive detail may indicate fabrication.

Overuse of industry jargon without demonstrable expertise. Be wary of resumes that read like they were optimized for keyword matching rather than written by someone who actually performed the work.

Contact information inconsistencies. Email addresses that don't match the candidate's name, phone numbers that change between communications, or addresses that don't align with claimed work locations can all signal problems.

Interview red flags

Inability to elaborate on resume details. Legitimate candidates can discuss their work in depth. If someone can't provide specific examples or gets vague when you drill into details, they may not have actually done what they claim.

Technical knowledge that doesn't match experience level. Someone claiming five years of experience who can't answer basic questions about their supposed area of expertise is a major red flag.

Suspicious video interview behavior. Background noise suggesting coaching from someone off-camera, unusual camera angles that obscure the candidate's face, or requests to turn off video or audio during technical portions of interviews all warrant concern.

Verification red flags

Recently created LinkedIn profiles with minimal connections. A profile created within the past few months for someone claiming years of industry experience is suspicious, particularly if they have very few connections or endorsements.

Discrepancies between LinkedIn and resume. Different job titles, employment dates, or descriptions between platforms suggest someone may be tailoring their story or fabricating parts of their background.

Creating a fraud response protocol

Spotting potential fraud is only the first step. Your team needs clear protocols for what to do when they suspect a problem.

What to do when fraud is suspected:

Document specific concerns with evidence. Don't rely on gut feeling. Write down exactly what raised suspicion — specific inconsistencies, unusual behaviors, or verification failures. Include timestamps, screenshots, and any relevant correspondence. Over time, this documentation helps you identify patterns in what fraudulent candidates look like for your organization.

Conduct additional verification before making accusations. Before concluding someone is committing fraud, allow them to explain apparent discrepancies. There may be legitimate reasons for what looks suspicious.

Follow company policy, security measures, and legal guidelines. Different jurisdictions have different laws around employment screening and privacy. Ensure your verification processes comply with applicable regulations.

Make informed decisions on candidate advancement. Based on the evidence and additional verification, decide whether to move forward, request more information, or remove the candidate from consideration.

Handle conversations with candidates carefully. If you need to ask about discrepancies, frame questions neutrally. "I noticed your LinkedIn shows different dates than your resume for this role — can you help me understand the timeline?" is better than "Your employment history doesn't match up."

Understand legal considerations. You generally cannot ask candidates about specific protected characteristics, even if those details help verify identity. Consult with legal counsel about what verification questions are permissible.

Know when to involve legal counsel. If you suspect organized fraud, identity theft, or other criminal activity, legal counsel should be involved before you take action that could have legal implications.

Update training based on new tactics. Fraud techniques evolve. Share learnings across your recruiting team so everyone benefits from each incident. Maintain a running log of fraud patterns you've seen — this becomes your organization's fraud detection playbook.

Adjust verification requirements as needed. If certain roles or channels prove particularly vulnerable to fraud, implement additional checks for those situations.

Working with AI-powered fraud detection

While training recruiters to spot red flags is essential, manual detection has limitations. Recruiters are already overwhelmed with a record number of applications. They can't thoroughly investigate every application for potential fraud without grinding hiring to a halt.

This is where AI-powered fraud detection becomes necessary. Gem's Fraud Detection Agent powered by Tofu, represents a new approach to this problem — one that protects companies without creating friction for legitimate candidates.

How it works:

The agent scans every application. As soon as an application is submitted, the fraud detection agent evaluates it for risk without requiring any manual intervention from recruiters. This means every single applicant gets screened, regardless of how busy your recruiting team is.

It evaluates fraud risk, not just signals. The agent evaluates fraud signals together and assigns a clear risk level (high, medium, low) to each application with 90% accuracy. You get a complete risk assessment with transparent explanations, not just individual flags to interpret.

Zero added friction for candidates or recruiters. The fraud detection agent runs automatically where you already review applications. There are no new tools for recruiters to learn, and no additional steps, such as ID uploads or biometric verification.

Full recruiter control with transparency. The agent flags suspicious applications and explains exactly why they're concerning, but recruiters make the final decision on every candidate. This maintains the human judgment that's essential in hiring while providing recruiters with better information to make those judgments.

Flexible deployment based on risk. You can enable fraud detection on a per-job basis, allowing you to control which roles require it based on risk level and application volume. 

Balancing fraud prevention with candidate experience

The goal of fraud prevention isn't to create an adversarial hiring process. It's to protect your company and your candidates by ensuring everyone plays by the same rules.

Avoid false positives

Not every inconsistency indicates fraud. Someone might have different job titles on their resume and LinkedIn because they were promoted mid-tenure, or because they're using the external title versus the internal one. Always investigate before concluding fraud.

Cultural and language barriers create confusion. International candidates might have credentials or career progression that look unusual to U.S. recruiters but are perfectly normal in their context. Educational systems, job titles, and employment norms vary significantly across countries.

Career transitions may seem unusual, but they can be legitimate. Someone pivoting from teaching to software development through a bootcamp has a non-traditional path, but that doesn't make it fraudulent. Give candidates the opportunity to explain their journey.

Maintain trust and respect

Communicate verification requirements clearly upfront. Let candidates know what verification steps are part of your process. This reduces anxiety and demonstrates that verification is a standard procedure, not a reflection on any individual candidate.

Explain why certain checks are necessary. When candidates understand that verification protects everyone, including legitimate applicants competing against fraudulent ones, they're generally receptive to reasonable requirements.

Treat all candidates with dignity during the verification process. Even when you suspect fraud, remain professional and respectful at all times. Handle conversations neutrally and avoid making accusations until you have clear evidence.

Efficiency considerations

Streamline verification to avoid candidate drop-off. Every additional step in your hiring process creates an opportunity for candidates to drop out of the process. Use technology to verify information efficiently without creating an unnecessary burden.

Use technology to reduce manual verification work. Fraud detection tools handle the heavy lifting, allowing recruiters to focus on evaluating fit and building relationships.

Balance thoroughness with speed-to-hire. In competitive talent markets, top candidates often receive multiple job offers. Your verification process needs to be thorough enough to catch fraud without being so slow that you lose great candidates to faster-moving competitors.

The path forward

Candidate fraud is a growing challenge, but it's not insurmountable. The most effective approach combines three elements: trained recruiters who know what to look for, tools that scale detection across every application, and organizational commitment to treating fraud prevention as a strategic priority.

Your recruiting team already has the instincts to identify suspicious behavior. They just need training on what specific patterns to watch for, systems to track what fraudulent candidates look like in your organization, and clear protocols for what to do when they spot something concerning.

Ready to protect your hiring process from fraud? Learn how Gem's Fraud Detection Agent automatically identifies suspicious applications before they waste your team's time or create security risks. Join the waitlist to be among the first companies with access.