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How to Avoid Fraudulent References
October 29, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein
In this sketchy Internet age, companies like The Reference Store can make offers like this: “Unemployed? Fired? Forced Out? Bad Reference? Create an entirely new work history using our fake reference service…” Employers and their background screening firms conducting professional references should follow these simple guidelines to avoid fraudulent references:
1.Employers should require from their job applicants the full name and title of any reference they are offering and include their employer’s name, city, state and phone number. Furthermore, employers should print a warning on their job applications stating that they screen for fraudulent references.
2.Background screeners should take the following actions:
Conduct a reverse search on any phone number provided. If it does not match the employer name, city and state, they should check the employer’s corporate status with the secretary of state.
Contact the reference provider at the employer’s publicly-listed phone number only.
Look up the reference on LinkedIn. If the reference is not on LinkedIn, the screener should confirm with the company’s human resources (HR) department that the reference provider is employed there with the title given.
If the reference’s employer is unknown to the screener, he or she should check the employer’s corporate status with the secretary of state.
Taken together, these measures should thwart any attempts to get a background screener to call a reference provider who has been hired to lie.
By Craig Caddell
