Could a bait and switch interview scam be your next hiring flop?

“The person we hired isn’t the one who showed up.” Sounds familiar? What happens when the person you hired isn’t the one who gave the interview? In this Q&A With Jane, we explain what a bait and switch interview is and how to spot scam candidates. From fake interviews to candidates who pay someone to interview for them, this bait and switch scam is a hiring nightmare you need to know about.

Hi Jane,

I’m at my wit’s end and need your advice on a recent hiring mess. We brought on a new coder who we believe was perfect. He aced every technical question in the interview, nailed the coding test and had all the right vibes. But when they showed up on day one, it wasn’t the same person we interviewed! I’ve heard about this ‘bait and switch’ interview scam, and now I’m wondering if that’s what hit us. Did they pay someone to interview for them and pull off a fake interview? It feels like a sneaky bait and switch scam, but we still aren’t sure. How do I even wrap my head around this, let alone stop it from happening again? I’m kicking myself for not catching it sooner. Any tips on what I should do next?

Q&A With Jane: When the person you hired isn’t who showed up to work.

Jane’s Advice

Oh, no. You’ve been through the wringer, haven’t you? I can feel the frustration dripping off your words, and I don’t blame you one bit. What you’re describing is a textbook bait and switch interview scam. It’s a hiring nightmare that’s becoming common in this wild, wild world of remote work and virtual interviews. How about we unpack this mess together? Let’s figure out what likely happened and get you armed with some no-nonsense tips to dodge the bullet.

How a fake interview becomes a ‘bait and switch’ scam

Let’s talk about the slick coder who charmed you through the technical questions and crushed the coding test. There’s a good chance they were a ringer. A ringer is someone paid to interview in place of the real candidate. This ‘pay someone to interview for you’ scheme is sneaky. The stand-in aces the interview rounds, you offer the job, and then the actual person shows up on day one. It’s a classic bait and switch scam dressed up in a fancy resume, and you’re left holding the door.

How does this even happen? Well, the gradual shift to virtual hiring has made it easier for scam candidates to pull this off with no repercussions. No in-person handshake, no quick ID check, just a Zoom call and a quick prayer. The professional they hired probably had the skills, the knowledge, and a knack for dodging suspicion. Meanwhile, the real hire waltzes in like they’ve saved the company from a catastrophe, and you’re stuck wondering how your “perfect” coder can’t even log into Slack.

Confronting the ‘pay someone to interview for you’ candidate

Don’t beat yourself up. Scammers can get crafty, and you’re not the first recruiter to fall for it. But let’s get practical here.

Confront the situation

Call a meeting with this new hire ASAP. Ask some pointed questions: “Walk me through how you approached this coding test.” If they struggle, you’ve got your answer. You could also straight-up ask, “We interviewed someone else, didn’t we?” Most people crumble under pressure. If they admit it or dodge it, you now have grounds to terminate.

Verify Identity

The importance of identity verification in the workplace cannot be understated. Compare the ID they provided during onboarding with the face you saw in the interview. If you still have interview recordings, pull them up. Your smoking gun is mismatched voices or vibes.

Tighten the process

You need to add layers to the interview process to stop this bait and switch interview scam from happening again. You can ask the candidate to hold a government-issued ID in front of the camera for verification. Remove take-home tests from the interview process and throw in a live coding session with screen-sharing. And if you can, do a second casual “meet the team” call post-offer but before the new hire joins the company. Scammers hate extra steps.

Spread the word

Tell your network about the bait and switch interview scam. Other hiring managers need to know this fake interview trick is out there. The more recruiters talk about it, the harder it gets for scammers to pull it off.

You’ve got it, and I’ve got your back.

Got more hiring horror stories? Send your questions to Jane and subscribe to The HR Digest because no HR mess is too big for straight talk and smart solutions!

The post Could a bait and switch interview scam be your next hiring flop? appeared first on The HR Digest.

Source: New feed