Deepfake Employees Are Here. Here’s How Employers Can Protect Themselves

Technology is making it easier by the day for “fake people” or real people using fake identifications to apply, interview, get hired, and even work for employers. Sometimes these individuals are referred to as “ghost employees.” In fact, these fake employees could be working at your company right now, and you may not know it. Remote work opportunities have made the existence of fake employees even more prevalent.

Employers with rapid growth, remote operations or remote workers, and high employee turnover are especially at risk for fake employees. Additionally, employers with security access, such as computer hardware and software companies, security service providers, VPN companies, and companies contracting with federal or state governments and the military, all may be intentional targets.

How Employers Can Prevent Fake Applicants

Employers can take steps to prevent applications from or hiring of fake employees in several ways. Keep in mind, some of these steps are more effective than others in identifying indicators of fraudulent conduct.

1. Use third-party recruiting services that verify applicants as part of the recruiting and application process.
2. Verify details for the top job applicants for accuracy, such as confirming that the listed home address and phone number are valid and checking to see if a LinkedIn or similar profile exists and when it was created.
3. Conduct job interviews either physically in person or through a remote video location that you trust, such as a branch office or even a private testing center.
4. Utilize a skills test or assessment as part of the hiring process, which can both deter fake applicants and weed out fraudsters.
5. Use a reputable background check company to confirm the applicant’s background, but be sure to comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws for background checks, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act and state-based “ban the box” laws.
6. Use an in-person identity verification process to confirm I-9 documentation during hiring, potentially including a notary public selected by the employer to confirm the individual’s identity and documents.

Warning Signs of Potential Fake Employees During Onboarding

There may be several warning signs of fake employees in the onboarding process as well. These warning signs include: (a) the employee using multiple or foreign bank accounts to be paid, (b) failing to complete emergency contact information, (c) difficulty having the employee complete I-9 documentation, and (d) employee reluctance to conduct onboarding in person. Employers should always ensure that social security numbers match with SSA records. Employers must keep in mind that suspicion should be individualized, not based on race or national origin or other protected class status.

Once an employee has been hired, warning signs may emerge that the employee is a fake or committing fraud. Do you have an employee failing to appear on camera for remote work meetings even after being told to turn the camera on? Do you have difficulty getting any deliverables from the employee? Is the employee absent when you have scheduled one-on-one meetings? Is the employee claiming large amounts of overtime when no work is resulting? Are you having difficulty verifying when the employee is at work or logged in to work (hint: has IT checked their login and logout times on their computer)? Does the employee claim to regularly work early in the mornings, late in the evenings, or on weekends instead of usual business hours? Is the employee accessing or trying to access information that is not part of their normal job duties?

What to do When a Fake Employee Is Suspected or Confirmed

If employers suspect a fake or fraudulent employee is in their ranks, best practice is to take these steps immediately:

• Conduct a supplemental background check, with employee written consent in advance, to confirm their bank account, identity, and other details. If the employee is a fake, this may even prompt the employee to quit on the spot.
• Check the employee’s computer login times to see if and when the person is working, if at all, and try to match those times with the reported work times.
• Ask the employee for a one-on-one meeting in person to discuss work performance.
• Conduct a supplemental internal audit of the employee’s I-9 documentation and ask the employee to re-provide the identity documentation they previously provided.

Finally, if employers catch a fake employee, employers should immediately do the following:

• Terminate the employment immediately once false identification is confirmed.
• Consider whether to pay the final paycheck or if this could be aiding and abetting criminal activity (keeping in mind wage and hour laws!)
• Notify law enforcement where the employee was located, or where the employee was believed to be located, to report identity theft or possible additional crimes.
• Immediately cut off all access the employee had to computer systems, and work with internal or external IT to determine if the employee may have sabotaged or otherwise compromised the computer systems.
• Consult a data privacy professional to determine if data breach notices to individuals or other entities are required by law or client contracts.

Fake employees, fraudsters, ghost employees, and similar issues will continue to arise and worsen as remote work expands and AI deepfake technology becomes more sophisticated. Employers must remain cautious and deliberate in their hiring processes to avoid hiring fake employees and the damage they create. Reach out to our employment and privacy & data security teams to help navigate these risks and protect your organization.

The legal issues impacting this topic are and will continue to be ever-changing (Employment Law in Motion!), and since publication of this blog post, new or additional information not referenced in this blog post may be available.

This article is provided for informational purposes only—it does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the firm and the reader. Readers should consult legal counsel before taking action relating to the subject matter of this article.