{"id":29892,"date":"2025-05-06T17:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.staging.certn.co\/?p=29892"},"modified":"2025-06-23T19:24:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:24:34","slug":"is-that-candidate-even-real-the-rise-of-ai-deepfakes-and-how-to-deepfake-proof-your-hiring-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.staging.certn.co\/us\/blog\/is-that-candidate-even-real-the-rise-of-ai-deepfakes-and-how-to-deepfake-proof-your-hiring-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Is That Candidate Even Real? The Rise of AI Deepfakes (And How to Deepfake-Proof Your Hiring Process)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fraud, deepfakes, and the tech that’s changing everything.

On this week\u2019s episode of What the FTE?<\/em><\/a>, Certn\u2019s Global Head of Background Screening, Donal Greene<\/a>, sits down with Doug Beavis<\/a>, our EMEA Sales & Commercial Director, and a 25-year veteran of the UK background screening industry.

Doug\u2019s seen it all. From the days of faxed reference checks (yes, really) to today\u2019s biometric ID scans, he shares how far hiring tech has come, and why it matters more than ever in the fight against fraud.

Bonus<\/strong>: Donal shares a wild story about a fraudster impersonating Certn\u2019s CEO. Spoiler alert\u2014he didn\u2019t fall for it. But the implications for HR are huge.

If you\u2019re navigating AI risks, hiring remotely, or just want to make sure your process is built on more than good faith, this episode is for you.

Tune into the full episode: wordpress.staging.certn.co\/podcast\/<\/a>

\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Certn<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Twenty years ago, failing a background check usually meant one of two things: an undisclosed criminal record or a terrible reference. Today? It\u2019s a whole new level.

Today it\u2019s not uncommon to catch candidates lying about job roles, making up jobs, or using diploma mills. In fact, we saw an application the other day with a fabricated university degree.

More concerning, GenAI is like electricity; cheap, accessible, and powerful. Anyone with an internet connection can spin up fake r\u00e9sum\u00e9s, voices, faces, or entire identities.

Welcome to the era of hiring hallucinations.

If you thought ghosting was bad, try onboarding a candidate who doesn\u2019t exist.

Deepfakes aren\u2019t sci-fi. They\u2019re your next hiring risk.<\/strong>

Deepfakes\u2014AI-generated videos, audio, and images\u2014are hitting HR and TA leaders right where it hurts: your trust, your process, and your people. From faked video interviews to synthetic onboarding fraud, we\u2019re entering a new phase of hiring risk. This isn\u2019t just a cybersecurity problem, it\u2019s an HR crisis.

It’s time to screen smarter, not harder, and definitely not slower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udea8 Deepfakes Are Infiltrating the Hiring Funnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a well-documented example in 2024, cybercriminals used a fake<\/em> CEO to hop on a Microsoft Teams call with staff at the world\u2019s biggest ad firm<\/a>, WPP. Fraudsters impersonated WPP\u2019s CEO using a fake WhatsApp account, a voice clone and YouTube footage.

In another case, KnowBe4<\/a> onboarded a deepfake posing as a remote hire, who then planted malware. Turns out, it was a North Korean operative. Let that sink in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HR\u2019s Newest Adversary: Synthetic Candidates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These aren\u2019t sloppy scams. I\u2019m talking about AI-enhanced applications, deepfaked ID photos, and video interviews where candidates are digitally puppeted in real time. 

Creepy? Definitely. 
Real? You bet.

As I explained to Doug, with the right technology, I could turn up for a virtual interview with a completely different face. I could have a cloned voice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepfakes Targeting Employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our usual podcast host, and our CEO, Andrew, features in this as well.

I\u2019ve been getting shady WhatsApp messages from a US number. Allegedly, there\u2019s a \u201ctop secret transaction\u201d in play. We\u2019re acquiring a company. Andy\u2019s out of the country. He needs me to act fast. Classic scammy vibes.

Normally I ignore these messages, but sometimes curiosity gets the better of you when you build identity verification tech for a living.<\/em>

Here\u2019s what shocked me:

They weren\u2019t clueless. These fraudsters had semi-credible intel about my role, our company, and, most alarmingly, Andy. They had details only someone who\u2019d done their homework would know.

Then came the voice note.

It sounded just like him. Same tone, cadence, mannerisms. They\u2019d likely scraped podcast clips or YouTube footage to create a convincing deepfake voice. Hearing it was… unsettling.

To dig deeper, I sent them a decoy webpage embedded with traceable tech to locate their IP. They took the bait, but what I uncovered was even more disturbing.

They\u2019d set up a real bank account. They answered obscure security questions\u2014things that only someone close to Andy might know. This wasn\u2019t a spray-and-pray scam. It was calculated, and dangerously convincing.

This is exactly why HR, TA, and leadership teams can\u2019t treat deepfake threats as \u201cIT\u2019s problem.\u201d They\u2019re coming for your people, your processes, and your trust.

\ud83c\udfa7 Hear the full story on this week\u2019s episode of What the FTE?<\/em>: wordpress.staging.certn.co\/podcast<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stat Check<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gartner predicts that by 2028, one in four job candidates globally will be fake. Meanwhile:

58%: Of HR teams say they struggle to balance speed and thoroughness in hiring (CIPD Webinar Poll<\/a>, 2024)

17% of hiring managers have already encountered deepfake job candidates during video interviews (ResumeGenius<\/a>)

A recent study<\/a> of 2,000 US and UK residents found that the vast majority of participants couldn\u2019t distinguish between real content and deepfake images and video
Roughly one in five consumers (22%) hadn\u2019t heard of deepfakes before the study

The illusion of confidence is the enemy of cybersecurity. When you\u2019re hiring remotely or globally, the attack surface gets even bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepfake Tactics You Should Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even the best hiring teams can get duped.

While scale-ups are especially vulnerable (onboarding dozens of new hires at once, racing against headcount targets) the truth is, any<\/em> company can be a mark. All it takes is one fake candidate slipping through the cracks.

Here\u2019s what to watch for in the age of AI-enabled fraud:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Voice Cloning<\/strong> –  \u201cHey it\u2019s your CFO, just wire that vendor payment\u2026\u201d (Spoiler: It\u2019s not your CFO.) AI-generated voice notes are shockingly realistic. If you’re not validating high-stakes requests with multi-channel verification, you\u2019re playing with fire.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. ID Spoofing with AI-Enhanced Photos <\/strong>– <\/strong>Still accepting static ID images or PDFs uploaded by the candidate? That\u2019s fraudster paradise. Tools exist to manipulate photos, blur out discrepancies, and create hyper-realistic<\/em> fakes. Only live, biometric ID verification<\/a> can keep up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Synthetic R\u00e9sum\u00e9s + Ghost Interviews <\/strong>– <\/strong>Coordinated scripts. AI-written CVs. Fake LinkedIn profiles boosted by engagement pods. \u201cCandidates\u201d can conduct full interviews with deepfaked avatars and audio clones. If your process can\u2019t sniff out digital deception, you risk being played. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The fix?<\/strong> Automate the basics, verify in real time, and stop relying on outdated processes that can\u2019t scale with risk. At Certn, we\u2019re known for background checks and identity verification that don\u2019t slow hiring down. But we\u2019ve been working up something big, and it\u2019s almost here\u2014something built for the era of deepfakes, digital deception, and remote interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For the past few months, our team\u2019s been developing a tool that adds an entirely new layer of trust to the hiring process. It\u2019s built for HR teams, because you\u2019re the ones on the frontlines. <\/strong>You already trust us to verify candidate identities and run fast, compliant checks. Now, we\u2019re going further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We believe this will be a game-changer for virtual interviews and remote hiring, a way to help teams hire fearlessly, even in a world where not every candidate is who they seem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Stay tuned, we\u2019re almost ready to share it with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Certn<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    10 Ways to Deepfake-Proof Your Hiring Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Not all background screening vendors are created equal; it really depends how seriously your vendor takes fraud. I can tell you first-hand of a case from Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prior to Trustmatic (the ID verification company I founded) being acquired by Certn,  I was working with a smaller European background screening vendor. One of their clients was hiring mid-level engineers and almost onboarded a fraudster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The candidate submitted a Slovak ID with all the right security features. A police clearance. A diploma. Everything looked<\/em> legitimate. But every document? Fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is the problem with accepting scans and candidate-supplied documents at face value in the vetting process, you risk missing fraud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At Certn we go to the direct source of truth. We verify data at the source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are 10 ways you can protect yourself<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Use Biometric Identity Verification<\/strong> – Face match. Liveness detection. Motion prompts. Certn\u2019s identity verification tech (yes, I\u2019m proud of it) uses this to stop imposters before they even start.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Implement Real-Time ID + Credential Verification<\/strong> – Automated + online > static scans and PDFs. Use platforms that verify IDs and credentials with issuing sources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Add Red Team Testing to TA Tech Stack<\/strong> – Have your security team simulate a deepfake attack on your hiring funnel. If they can break it, so can someone else.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Educate Your Hiring Teams<\/strong> – Your recruiters and coordinators are frontline defenders. Train them on spotting anomalies (laggy interviews, mismatched lip sync, nervous stalling). More specifically:\n