Background checks reduce the risk of fraud

In our recent blog post, Can you trust your candidates’ claims? we talked about the value of background checks for verifying claims of employment history. But did you know they’re equally valuable for verifying education and professional credentials?

Fake degrees scandals have been hitting the mainstream media in recent months. A good example is the New York Times expose on Axact, a Pakistani company accused of being a so-called Degree Mill — raking in hundreds of millions of dollars for Internet-issued fake degrees.

CBC’s Marketplace did their own expose, which included purchasing three fake PhDs from non-existent American universities.

Most purchasers of fake degrees are aware that they are fraudulent. In many cases, no schoolwork is required to obtain the degree. Purchasers are willing to pay for false credentials in order to pad their resume or help with immigration regulations. In fact, one former FBI agent estimated that half of the PhDs awarded in the United States each year were in fact fake.

For recruiters and hiring managers, this can be a scary proposition.

Imagine hiring a candidate who seems fully qualified on paper, and charming throughout the interview process, only to discover that they have no actual skills or education required for the role. Not only is this kind of mistake expensive, time consuming and embarrassing, it can pose a significant liability and risk to colleagues or the general public!

Thorough and independent background checks help to mitigate this risk.

Njoyn will be introducing interfaces to industry leading background check organizations over the coming months, including First Advantage, Mintz Global Screening, Triton and Verified First.

Njoyn recruiters will be able to initiate a background check against a given candidate from within Njoyn, and then be able to view the results. This value-added integration will empower Njoyn recruiters to confirm a myriad of facts about a candidate, from criminal records to employment and education verification, professional and trade accreditation, driving records, and even international security risk — all from within their regular Njoyn workflow.

The above background check organizations  are experts in their field, and cognizant of federal and provincial laws regarding human rights and privacy, ensuring that your organization remains compliant while also reducing the risk of hiring an unsuitable candidate.