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Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#41

what exactly is the endgame?

I imagine either: a) Get hired, collect a paycheck or two while doing the absolute bare minimum (filling out onboarding forms, etc - no real work) and then move on to the next victim company. or b) Get hired with the goal of getting access to improperly secured company or user data. I imagine a) is vastly more common than b).

It could also be to get the job. People often feel entitled but believe they are disadvantaged by some factor outside their control and use that to justify cheating, believing they will be able to do the job once they get there. Another version of this is people who apply for a job and actually are just posers who can't code at all. In both cases the employer failed to weed them out, even if the first version is a more overt kind of cheating, the outcome isn't much different than the second version

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#42

Slightly tangential, but I wonder how long before you have people using deepfakes to look and sound like someone else on camera to perpetrate this kind of fraud. It seems like all of the pieces are mostly there.

In theory the only thing that matters is the results, not if they actually exist.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#43

Quoted post unavailable.

So don't do it at scale. Just to jobs you're applying to.

you hint at the nuance involved. I did say by general rule. and there are many cases where one does not apply but rather a remote actor reaches out, ostensibly a hiring company.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#45

Simple - just auto-reject anyone who refuses to use a camera or answer specifics.

That still costs you (the employer) money. It's like a DoS attack for your hiring system. E.g. a nefarious actor could harm a competitor by overwhelming them with fake applicants that it takes time to sift through.

This is the reason why employee recommendation have far higher success rate.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#46
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anyone who is doing this, you're destroying trust and making life hard for the rest of us. Sadly, they don't care. This is why we can't have nice things.

Um we can still have nice things if people stop being naive. It’s not hard to verify someone actually exists… there are ways.

I know. It was a joke.

I'm old, and have seen plenty of rejection, even though I'm "the real deal." But that kind of behavior has been used as an excuse for ignoring me. The icing on the cake, was when I was told that "I probably faked" my portfolio.

At that point, I realized that I am radioactive, and might as well just give up.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#47
I'm not saying this isn't happening, but I want to mention that I often refuse to do stuff that my interviewers ask me to. Reasons being any of: I consider it useless for the evaluation, I consider it doesn't correctly asses my expertise, I consider it would put me in a bad situation etc. Of course, I can do all this because the market allows me to do it.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#48
It used to happen alot with contract bodyshops, even in person.

Usually you’d get weird looking resumes from someone based out of New Jersey or Arizona. In most cases the employees were Indian and would phone screen well. When the person landed, usually they were green staff who would basically send their work back to a more senior person or team who would do the work elsewhere overnight.

With remote, there’s definitely more fraud in this space, from people lying about where they are, stealing information and just grifting.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#49
post #20

Ug... as someone that one day would like to work remote this is infuriating. Anyone who is doing this, you're destroying trust and making life hard for the rest of us.

> Anyone who is doing this, you're destroying trust and making life hard for the rest of us. Sadly, they don't care. This is why we can't have nice things.

Yeah, I know. I'm just venting really.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone having issues with job applicant fraud?

#50
post #47

I'm not saying this isn't happening, but I want to mention that I often refuse to do stuff that my interviewers ask me to. Reasons being any of: I consider it useless for the evaluation, I consider it doesn't correctly asses my expertise, I consider it would put me in a bad situation etc. Of course, I can do all this because the market allows me to do it.

Has that worked? Have you got any offers doing that?
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