Skip to main content
  • Personal
  • Business
  • Foundation
    Close
    • Global
    • India
    • MENA
  • mySHRM Login
  • MySHRM
    • Dashboard
    • Account
    • Logout
SHRM
  • Membership
    • Membership

      As a SHRM Member®, you’ll pave the path of your success with invaluable resources, world-class educational opportunities and premier events.

      Membership Tiers
      • Professional
      • Student
      • Global
      • Executive
      • Enterprise
      Membership Benefits
  • Learning
    • SHRM Certification

      Demonstrate your ability to apply HR principles to real-life situations.

      • Choosing Your Certification
      • SHRM-CP
      • SHRM-SCP
      • How to Get Certified
      • Prepare for the Exam
      • Recertification
      Educational Programs

      Designed and delivered by HR experts to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to drive lasting change in the workplace.

      • Essentials of HR
      • eLearning
      Specialty Credentials

      Demonstrate targeted competence and enhance your HR credibility.

      Qualifications

      Gain a deeper understanding and develop critical skills.

      Seminars

      Stand out from among your HR peers with the skills obtained from a SHRM Seminar.

  • Events
    • Events

      Demonstrate your ability to apply HR principles to real-life situations.

      • SHRM26 Annual Conference
      • BLUEPRINT 2025
      • Talent Conference & Expo
      • Linkage Institute
      • The AI+HI Project 2026
      State Conferences

      Attend a SHRM state event to network with other HR professionals and learn more about the future of work.

      Seminars

      Stand out from among your HR peers with the skills obtained from a SHRM Seminar.

      Webinars
  • Resources
    • Resources

      Stay up to date with news and leverage our vast library of resources.

      • Flagships
      • HR Research
      • Legal & Compliance
      • Latest News & Trends
      • Tools & Guides
      • Webinars
      HR Topics
      • AI in the Workplace
      • Civility at Work
      • Compensation & Benefits
      • Inclusion & Diversity
      • Talent Acquisition
      • Workplace Technology
      • Workplace Violence Prevention
      Educational Programs

      Designed and delivered by HR experts to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to drive lasting change in the workplace.

  • Community
    • Find a SHRM Chapter

      Easily find a local professional or student chapter in your area.

      • SHRM Northern California
      SHRM Connect

      Post polls, get crowdsourced answers to your questions and network with other HR professionals online.

      Membership Councils

      Learn about SHRM's five regional councils and the Membership Advisory Council (MAC).

      Volunteers

      Learn about volunteer opportunities with SHRM.

  • Shop
    • SHRM Store

      Shop for HR certifications, credentials, learning, events, merchandise and more.

      Workplace Essentials
      • SHRM Memberships
      • SHRM Certification
      • Specialty Credentials
      • HR Tools & Tech
      Education
      • Seminars
      • eLearning
      • Books
      Merchandise
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Office & Home
Become a Member
Renew
Rejoin Now
Renew
Book a Speaker
Close
  • Personal
  • Business
  • Foundation
  • Membership
    back
    Membership
    • Membership

      As a SHRM Member®, you’ll pave the path of your success with invaluable resources, world-class educational opportunities and premier events.

      Membership Tiers
      • Professional
      • Student
      • Global
      • Executive
      • Enterprise
      Membership Benefits
  • Learning
    back
    Learning
    • SHRM Certification

      Demonstrate your ability to apply HR principles to real-life situations.

      • Choosing Your Certification
      • SHRM-CP
      • SHRM-SCP
      • How to Get Certified
      • Prepare for the Exam
      • Recertification
      Educational Programs

      Designed and delivered by HR experts to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to drive lasting change in the workplace.

      • Essentials of HR
      • eLearning
      Specialty Credentials

      Demonstrate targeted competence and enhance your HR credibility.

      Qualifications

      Gain a deeper understanding and develop critical skills.

      Seminars

      Stand out from among your HR peers with the skills obtained from a SHRM Seminar.

  • Events
    back
    Events
    • Events

      Demonstrate your ability to apply HR principles to real-life situations.

      • SHRM26 Annual Conference
      • BLUEPRINT 2025
      • Talent Conference & Expo
      • Linkage Institute
      • The AI+HI Project 2026
      State Conferences

      Attend a SHRM state event to network with other HR professionals and learn more about the future of work.

      Seminars

      Stand out from among your HR peers with the skills obtained from a SHRM Seminar.

      Webinars
  • Resources
    back
    Resources
    • Resources

      Stay up to date with news and leverage our vast library of resources.

      • Flagships
      • HR Research
      • Legal & Compliance
      • Latest News & Trends
      • Tools & Guides
      • Webinars
      HR Topics
      • AI in the Workplace
      • Civility at Work
      • Compensation & Benefits
      • Inclusion & Diversity
      • Talent Acquisition
      • Workplace Technology
      • Workplace Violence Prevention
      Educational Programs

      Designed and delivered by HR experts to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to drive lasting change in the workplace.

  • Community
    back
    Community
    • Find a SHRM Chapter

      Easily find a local professional or student chapter in your area.

      • SHRM Northern California
      SHRM Connect

      Post polls, get crowdsourced answers to your questions and network with other HR professionals online.

      Membership Councils

      Learn about SHRM's five regional councils and the Membership Advisory Council (MAC).

      Volunteers

      Learn about volunteer opportunities with SHRM.

  • Shop
    back
    Shop
    • SHRM Store

      Shop for HR certifications, credentials, learning, events, merchandise and more.

      Workplace Essentials
      • SHRM Memberships
      • SHRM Certification
      • Specialty Credentials
      • HR Tools & Tech
      Education
      • Seminars
      • eLearning
      • Books
      Merchandise
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Office & Home
Become a Member
Renew
Rejoin Now
Renew
Book a Speaker
    • Global
    • India
    • MENA
SHRM
mySHRM Login
  • MySHRM
    • Dashboard
    • Account
    • Logout
Close

  1. Topics & Tools
  2. Workplace News & Trends
  3. Employee Relations
  4. Checking Resumes for Fraud
Share
  • Linked In
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus convallis sem tellus, vitae egestas felis vestibule ut.


Error message details.

Copy button
Reuse Permissions

Request permission to republish or redistribute SHRM content and materials.


Learn More
News

Checking Resumes for Fraud

February 20, 2018 | Dana Wilkie

A businessman sitting at a desk with a laptop and a pen.


​No matter how savvy or street-wise you are as a manager, it can be easy to miss clues that someone has falsified his or her resume.

Candidates, even at the most senior levels, are regularly embellishing their resumes, according to a report from HireRight. Eighty-five percent of the 4,000 survey respondents said they uncovered a lie or misrepresentation on a candidate's resume or job application during the screening process—up from 66 percent five years earlier.

"The competitive job market is certainly one of the factors at play here, with more candidates potentially trying to beef up their resumes to outshine the competition for desirable positions," said Catherine Aldrich, vice president of operations at HireRight, an Irvine, Calif.-based background screening company. "Candidates are aware of what HR managers are looking for on their resumes. With the flood of applicants, they may assume HR managers aren't going to follow up on every detail."

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Human Resources Discipline of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability]

The Resume Check: Step by Step

When checking out a resume, Aldrich recommends starting at the top, with the applicant's name and address.

"If a candidate is lying about their name or address, what else are they hiding?" she asked.

Identity checks can be done by verifying a Social Security number, global passport or government-issued identification card.

A key part of a reference check is to independently verify that past employers are real and the contact numbers are legitimate.

And since an employee's past can often be prologue, an employer has a vested interest in finding out how the applicant performed in previous positions.

"How a person has performed in the past is the single best indicator of how they will perform at your business," said Lester Rosen, an attorney and the CEO of Employment Screening Resources, a background screening firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The HireRight survey found that only about half—49 percent—of employers check applicants' education credentials. Candidates have inflated their grade point average, claimed to have received an academic honor that they didn't earn, or even made up a degree altogether. Also, employers should be aware of "diploma mills," or phony schools that will provide job applicants a certificate or degree for a price.

"Anyone with a printer, computer and credit card can instantly achieve any degree they want from any of approximately 10,000 fake schools around the world, which are often 'accredited' by fake accreditation agencies," Rosen said.

The FTC offers a website with information to help employers recognize education scams.  

Screening Companies

While it may sound like an expensive prospect, some employers use external screening companies to 

verify an applicant's education and work experience.

"The best use of a screening firm is for the methodical verification of employment, credentials and education after a hiring decision has been made," Rosen said. "Many background firms have a great deal of automation that allows the task to be completed very efficiently and cost-effectively."

Prices can vary greatly depending on what types of information are being checked, Gill said.

"While simple database searches are the least expensive, these are less accurate than a more in-depth check that can provide additional verification including past employment, job titles held, educational credentials and professional licensing."

As a rule of thumb, the cost of a reference check typically is less than an employee's first day on the job, Rosen said.

"The exact amount depends on how many past employers, schools or licenses are checked as well as the employer's volume of business and business needs.  But the amount is generally minimal compared to the damage just one bad hire can cause."

For instance, a bad hire—especially one that an employer didn't thoroughly screen—can be a legal risk.

"[Screening] demonstrates due diligence in case a firm is ever sued for negligent hiring," Rosen said. "Even if all the employer gets [from a previous employer] is verification of the past employment, dates and title, that at least verifies the application, so the employer knows the past employment is accurate and real."

Screening Your Future Boss

Screening experts say that executives, more than rank-and-file workers, may not be as thoroughly vetted in the hiring process.

"There have been many well-publicized incidents where CEOs, head coaches or members of upper management were discovered to have falsified past employment or education," Rosen said. "The organization wrongly assumed a background check was not needed for someone at that level.  The fact is that the higher up in the organization a person is, the more damage they can do and the more reason there is to do a background check."

Because a company's HR professional could be screening the resume of an applicant who could be his or her boss, consider hiring an outside agency or law firm "to prevent HR from being put in an awkward situation if something negative is found," Rosen said.   

SHRM Online editor Roy Maurer contributed to this report.

Ethics
Grievances & Disciplinary Actions
Labor & Employee Relations
Management Skills


Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace

​An organization run by AI is not a futuristic concept. Such technology is already a part of many workplaces and will continue to shape the labor market and HR. Here's how employers and employees can successfully manage generative AI and other AI-powered systems.



Related Content

(opens in a new tab)
News
How One Company Uses Digital Tools to Boost Employee Well-Being

Learn how Marsh McLennan successfully boosts staff well-being with digital tools, improving productivity and work satisfaction for more than 20,000 employees.

(opens in a new tab)
News
A 4-Day Workweek? AI-Fueled Efficiencies Could Make It Happen

The proliferation of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the ensuing expected increase in productivity and efficiency, could help usher in the four-day workweek, some experts predict.

(opens in a new tab)
News
Rising Demand for Workforce AI Skills Leads to Calls for Upskilling

As artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, the demand for workers with the ability to work alongside and manage AI systems will increase. This means that workers who are not able to adapt and learn these new skills will be left behind in the job market.

HR Daily Newsletter

Stay up to date with the latest HR news, trends, and expert advice each business day.

Success title

Success caption

Manage Subscriptions
Our Brands

SHRM Foundation Logo
SHRM Executive Network Logo
CEO Circle Logo
SHRM Business Logo
SHRM Linkage Logo
SHRM Labs
Overview

  • About SHRM
  • Careers at SHRM
  • Press Room
  • Contact SHRM
  • Book a SHRM Executive Speaker
  • Advertise with Us
  • Post a Job
Advocacy

  • SHRM Advocacy
  • Workforce Development
  • Workplace Inclusion
  • Workplace Flexibility & Leave
  • Workplace Governance
  • Workplace Health Care
  • Workplace Immigration
  • State Affairs
  • Global Policy
  • Advocacy Team
  • Take Action
  • SHRM E2 Initiative
  • Generation Cares
  • The Section 127 Coalition
Member Resources

  • Ask An Advisor
  • SHRM Newsletters
  • SHRM Flagships
  • Topics & Tools
  • Find an HR Job
  • Vendor Directory

© 2025 SHRM. All Rights Reserved
SHRM provides content as a service to its readers and members. It does not offer legal advice, and cannot guarantee the accuracy or suitability of its content for a particular purpose. Disclaimer

Follow Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

  1. Privacy Policy

  2. Terms of Use

  3. Accessibility

Join SHRM for Exclusive Access to Member Content

SHRM Members enjoy unlimited access to articles and exclusive member resources.

Already a member?
Free Article
Limit Reached

Get unlimited access to articles and member-exclusive resources.

You've reached the limit of 1 free article this month. Join to access unlimited articles and member-only resources.

Already a member?
Free Article
Exclusive Executive-Level Content

This content is for the SHRM Executive Network and Executive Content Subscription members only.

You've reached the limit of 1 free article this month. Join the Executive Network and enjoy unlimited content.

Already a member?
Free Article
Exclusive Executive-Level Content

This content is for the SHRM Executive Network and Executive Content Subscription members only.

You've reached the limit of 1 free article this month. Join and enjoy unlimited access to SHRM Executive Network Content.

Already a member?
Unlock Your Career with SHRM Membership

Please enjoy this free resource! Join SHRM for unlimited access to exclusive articles and tools.

Already a member?

Your membership is almost expired! Renew today for unlimited access to member content.

Renew now

Your membership has expired. Renew today for unlimited access to member content.

Renew Now

Your Executive Network membership is nearing its expiration. Renew now to maintain access.

Renew Now

Your membership has expired. Renew your Executive Network benefits today.

Renew Now