Job seekers who lie on their CVs risk getting a criminal record, say fraud experts. One person in every five has lied about a qualification on their CV in the past year — or knows someone who has, according to a fraud prevention service.
The figure — 19 per cent — is slightly up from 17 per cent who confirmed this in a similar survey last year, Cifas said. Within the latest total, more than a third (38 per cent) of 16 to 24-year-olds had lied on their CV or knew someone who had, along with three in 10 (30 per cent) 35 to 44-year-olds.
The research also revealed that two in five people who suspected a colleague of CV fraud would not report it to their HR department, even if they could do so anonymously. This was an increase on 2021 when a third of people said the same.
Cifas, a non-profit organisation that works to reduce and prevent fraud and financial crime, warned that job seekers found to have made fraudulent applications could risk getting a criminal record, as well as potentially being pursued through the courts for damages for “unjust enrichment” to their salary.
The organisation's insider-threat manager, Tracey Carpenter, said: “While it may seem like a harmless exaggeration, there are very serious consequences associated with CV fraud, which can open up a gateway to other types of offences including bribery and employee theft. Employees who commit CV fraud can be vulnerable to blackmail or extortion from criminals eager to gain access to a company’s sensitive information in order to steal funds or commit further fraud.
"It also unfairly edges out those candidates who otherwise may have been more suited for the role.” She added that people committing CV fraud “also run the risk of being added to the Cifas internal fraud database, which can severely hinder their future employment prospects”.
She said: “It may be tempting to stretch the truth on a CV, but it’s rarely worth it in the long run.” Around 2,000 people in the UK were surveyed between late August and early September for the research.
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