PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING qualification checks
The lying game
No one would fall for the cheap qualifications churned out by
online ‘Diploma Mills’… or would they? Iain Hopkins discovers that
deception runs deep – and employers need to be wary
G
len Oakley was moving up the corporate
ladder, but as he was about to step on the
highest rung of his career, the truth came
out and his world fell apart.
Sharing similarities with the film Catch Me If
You Can (a real-life story in which Frank Abagnale
Jnr successfully impersonated an airline pilot,
doctor, assistant attorney-general and history
professor, while cashing more than US$2.5m in
fraudulent cheques in 26 countries), Oakley’s
story is almost as compelling: a man with no
qualifications who lied his way into any job he
wanted. It serves as a stark warning to employers
32
considering waiving pre-employment checks in the
rush to fill positions.
Oakley’s deception began in the 1980s. The
fake qualifications included a bachelor of science
(hons), a graduate diploma in education, a master of
business administration and a doctor of philosophy.
These got him his first job and led to others –
predominantly six-figure executive roles.
The first time he used the qualifications was in
1987, when Oakley jumped from being a mortuary
assistant to a regional manager of the Maritime
Services Board. An impressive run of job titles
continued until 2001, when his lies started to catch
www.hcamag.com
32-34 preemployment screening.indd 32
12/9/2010 2:21:32 PM
PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING qualification checks
up with him. Oakley became the front-runner for
an executive position with toll road developer
Transurban; all was well until a board member –
who happened to be a University of NSW academic
during the time that Oakley claimed to have
completed his masters – had no recollection of him.
The recruitment agency assigned to the Transurban
position confronted Oakley with doubts that his
photocopied qualifications were genuine. Unable to
provide original copies, Oakley responded with the
far-fetched story that he had been given an identity,
including academic qualifications, by the Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation while working as
an undercover agent in the 1980s. He added it was
a military secret that could not be disclosed, before
withdrawing his application. Meanwhile, another
job application, to NIB Health, was sprung by their
recruitment agency Korn/Ferry who – thankfully –
carried out their due diligence.
History abounds with potentially devastating
hiring errors. Geoff Stockton is a CV fraud detective
and director of employment screening company
The Personnel Risk Management Group. He says
that adding the odd qualification to a CV is more
common than one might think. “All it takes is a good
imagination and a computer. You can write anything
you like in a CV and chances are it won’t be checked,
and if nobody does any checking, you can get away
with whatever you dare to write,” he says.
As screening becomes more accepted and
advanced so does forgery. Internet growth, laser
printers and other accessible technology have
caused an explosion of fraud. Taking it a step
further, ‘Diploma Mills’ are companies set up as fake
schools selling Bachelor of Arts, Masters degrees
and Doctorates for a relatively small fee. There are
an estimated 500 Diploma or Degree Mills operating
around the world with an annual turnover of
hundreds of millions of dollars.
Richard Bensberg, managing director of Red
Flag Screening, says qualifications checks are
becoming harder to carry out, but there are three
variations commonly seen on suspect qualifications:
»» ‘Original’ forgery
»» Real certificate with details changed
»» Diploma Mill-provided certificate
“Generally, academic certificates are not difficult
to forge, and therefore forgeries are hard to spot –
there are some exceptions however, with forgeries
containing obvious misspellings, for example.
As such, the most effective method of verifying
a qualification is to do it through the institution
“All it takes
is a good
imagination and
a computer.
You can write
anything you
like in a CV
and chances
are it won’t be
checked”
– Geoff Stockton
www.hcamag.com
32-34 preemployment screening.indd 33
33
12/9/2010 2:21:34 PM
TOP TIPS
“Always remember
that while most
candidates are
honest, some
open and probing
questions about
the course usually
uncovers any
anomalies that you
may perceive,”
says Greg Newton,
managing director
of Verify.
Verify recommends
the following:
»»Always ask for
the original
qualification
certificate, never
a copy, but retain
a copy on file for
future reference
»»Wherever possible,
compare the
qualification with
others that you
hold on file for staff
from the same
institution
»»If in any doubt as
to the authenticity
of the institution
just do a quick
internet search
»»Ask probing
questions of the
candidate as to
why they chose
that organisation
and even get
some ‘contacts’ to
follow through
»»Cross-check
the dates on
the certificate
to ensure that
they align with
the candidates’
résumé and work
history
»»Use an
experienced
Verifier to
contact the
issuing institution
to confirm the
qualification
34
directly. This is where the issue of Diploma Mills
is important to understand. In such cases, the
awarding institute will often still exist and even
be able to verify the qualification attained. In such
cases it’s important to have a clear policy on the
educational requirements for the position, and
having a screening provider who can alert you to
instances where the ‘qualification’ does not meet
your company’s standards,” says Bensberg.
As proof that these bogus qualifications are
difficult to spot, last year an NBC reporter in the
US led an investigation into Diploma Mills and
10 days later, after paying US$180 to a company
called instant.degrees.com, was awarded a PhD
with honours, no questions asked, from a ‘Buxton
University’ in the UK. The package arrived, stamped
from Portugal.
The Buxton degree comes with an accreditation
certificate that states in very small print that they
are having trouble with their phone lines, making
overseas verification difficult. Stockton says little
irregularities such as this should ring alarm bells
for astute employers. He also cautions that many
genuine-looking university diplomas are really from
places that sell degrees for ‘life experience’. Reading
a book on a relevant subject is often criteria enough.
Greg Newton, managing director of Verify,
says that where the qualification appears to be
issued by an Australian institution there are some
easy steps to take (see box). He adds that working
with a pre-employment screening partner that
has relationships with hundreds of institutions
around the world is more effective than trying to
use a supposed qualification broker which may
just be ‘warehousing’ information. “While they can
be a useful source we’ve always found the issuing
institution to be the most reliable and valid,” he says.
“The absolute simplest and best way to confirm the
qualification is to have an experienced background
verification company undertake the process for you.
It’s not expensive and in most cases costs less than
$50 to give you total peace of mind.”
In addition to Diploma Mills, organisations
are urged to be wary of a similar trend in the
employment reference market, with companies
providing fake payroll info and references.
“It costs about $1,000 to set up a company.
We encountered a case where a candidate had his
spouse on the other end of the telephone ready
to provide a reference for him. It was a legitimate
company but it was totally fake,” says Stockton.
The globalisation of the workforce is adding
another layer of complexity to an already
challenging problem, as greater numbers of
students are returning from abroad with a wider
range of qualifications from different institutions.
“This can prove to be an overwhelming job for
HR professionals tasked with verifying such
information, experience and qualifications from all
around the world,” says Bensberg. “It’s becoming
much harder for all employers, from large MNCs
to small local businesses, to be sure whether the
qualifications and experience a candidate presents
in their applications are genuine.”
However, it must be remembered that
qualification checks, like most background
verification services, can usually be delivered within
the same time frame it takes for a potential employer
to undertake the full recruitment process. Solid
partnerships with third party information providers
and high speed online communication technology
means that most checks – such as identity, criminal
record, credit history, and bankruptcy – can be
completed in less than 24 hours.
“We try to get them back as soon as possible but
there are always going to be roadblocks – referees
who are overseas, schools that are closed over a
period during the year – but no one else can get it
done any faster,” Stockton says.
In Australia, at least, it appears candidates can
also ill afford to dupe employers. Stockton warns
that if a worker commits fraud by providing false
qualifications in order to be employed, they may
be subject to criminal charges. “There is certain to
be a flood of lawsuits in the future and insurance
companies are not going to pay out for theft or
litigation if an employer has not conducted proper
pre-employment screening,” he says. HC
www.hcamag.com
32-34 preemployment screening.indd 34
12/9/2010 2:21:36 PM