The Rise of Proxy Interviews: How to Spot and Prevent Hiring Fraud in Remote Work

The growth of remote work since the pandemic has brought many advantages but has also led to a troubling issue- proxy interviews. Hiring the right person is essential, but what happens when someone else takes the interview for them? Proxy interviews have become a growing issue, particularly in remote hiring, where dishonest candidates use tricks to get jobs they are not qualified for.

From lip-syncing and AI-generated voices to other advanced cheating methods, these tactics can result in hiring the wrong person. Not only this, but it can also affect productivity and trust in the workplace.

In this blog, we will discuss why some candidates use proxy interviews, the methods they employ and how companies can prevent and spot such frauds with techniques like Interview as a Service.

What is a proxy interview?

A proxy interview happens when someone else attends the interview on behalf of the candidate, pretending to be them. It could involve hiring a coach, family member or friend to act as a stand-in or help the candidate during the interview. This is a trick to fool the hiring team into thinking they are speaking to the real applicant.

Proxy candidates can show up in various forms, like imposters in interviews, fake resumes or fake references. This practice has become more common with the rise of remote work and is part of interview fraud, where candidates mislead employees and make the hiring process unfair.

Because of this, the company may hire someone who lacks the skills or experience they claimed, which will lead to many potential problems later.

What makes a proxy interview a bait-and-switch scenario?

Proxy interviews are often called a bait-and-switch because the hiring team is first shown one person (the bait), but during the interview, they are replaced by someone else (the switch).

The goal of a proxy interview is to trick interviewers into thinking they are speaking with the actual candidate. However, a third party answers or helps answer the question, which leads to a misrepresentation of the candidate’s skills and qualifications. 

Why do candidates resort to proxy interviews?

Candidates may use proxy interviews to hide gaps in their skills or boost their confidence. Let us take a closer look at why some choose this dishonest approach:

• Language challenges: Candidates facing language barriers may use a proxy to speak for them to create the illusion of fluency during interviews.
• Difficulty with technical questions: Candidates may use a proxy for technical interviews to rely on an expert to handle difficult questions they cannot solve. 
• Low confidence: Some candidates lack confidence and fear rejection, so they let someone else take the interview to avoid the pressure. 
• Deliberate misrepresentation: Some candidates intentionally deceive employers by using a proxy and pretending to have more skills than they possess. 

Ways candidates conduct proxy interviews

Here are some ways candidates may take part in proxy interviews:

Impersonating someone for an interview

If the candidate looks similar to another person, they might ask the look-alike to attend the interview for them. After the job offer is made, the real candidate joins the company without anyone noticing. 

Coaching via hidden audio

The candidate wears headphones linked to a phone call with a helper. The helper gives answers during the interview to help the candidate respond confidently and increase their chances of success. 

Lip syncing

The candidate joins a video interview on Teams but stays connected to someone through a phone call. The person on the other end answers the difficult questions, and the candidate lip-syncs the responses to make it look like they are answering themselves. 

Using real-time transcription for assistance

The candidate joins the interview and stays connected with a helper on another call. The helper listens to the questions but stays muted. They send the answers through a live transcript, which the candidate reads and repeats during the interview. 

Why are proxy interviews a concern?

Let us explore why proxy interviews are a big problem and how they can cause issues for companies and teams.

• Unfair hiring practices: Proxy interviews give some candidates an unfair edge, which harms trust in the process and weakens the company’s ethics. 
• Wasting time and resources: Hiring through deception leads to wasted time, extra costs and delays in projects. It forces the company to restart recruitment.
• Harming the company’s image: Deceptive hiring practices can damage the company’s reputation and cause potential candidates, partners and employees to lose trust.
• Hiring an unfit candidate: Proxy interviews can mislead hiring teams and result in hiring a poor-performing candidate and the need to restart the hiring process. 
• Possible legal risks: Hiring through proxy interviews can break laws, cause legal issues and contract disputes and harm the company’s reputation. 
• Harming team productivity: An unqualified employee adds extra work to the team. This lowers morale, creates frustration and reduces overall productivity.

Also Read: Tech Recruitment Challenges Uncovered: Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent

How to prevent proxy interviews?

Here is how to safeguard your hiring process, particularly for tech roles where accessing skills is crucial:

• Confirm identity via online platforms: Use LinkedIn and other professional networks to verify a candidate’s identity, skills and work history for accuracy. 
• Conduct detailed reference checks: Talking to past employers and colleagues helps verify a candidate’s skills and work ethic. Hesitation may indicate issues. 
• Require video interviews: Conduct video interviews to prevent proxy participation and observe non-verbal cues to help assess candidates’ confidence and skills. 
• Perform detailed background checks: Verify a candidate’s credentials, past roles and experience through trusted services to ensure they have the skills they claim. 

Suggested Read: An Ultimate Guide to Crafting an Effective Technical Hiring Process

Final Thoughts

A proxy interview weakens the hiring process by letting people trick employers about a candidate’s real skills. This dishonest practice can harm both companies and candidates and ultimately result in bad hiring choices and mismatched expectations.

Proxy interviews can be a problem, but they do not have to derail your hiring process. By using better screening methods, AI tools and clear communication, companies can stop and detect interview fraud. VProPle’s Interview as a Service platform simplifies this with AI-powered interview analysis, real-time monitoring and fast feedback. Contact us today to learn more about our platform and use it to hire the right candidates to build a strong and trustworthy team!