December 10, 2019

Background Checks

Will extensive Aadhaar Card linkages prevent identity fraud?

Driven by robust technology and global investment, the sharing, on-demand and many other contemporary businesses have been encouraging cashless transactions lately to drive the bigger agenda of ‘Digital India’. Today, over 100 crore people have Aadhaar number which means over 92% adult population in India has an Aadhaar card.

There has been an unprecedented growth in cashless business transactions and how the customer has been receiving it. Hence, companies have been dramatically capturing the online clientele in favour.

Another recent news reports, ‘Aadhaar cardholders would soon be able to use their cards to credit or debit money. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) asserted how biometric authentication capacity of Aadhaar will be increased from the current 10 crore to 40 crore a day through a fingerprint or iris scanner verification for electronic transactions. As more and more companies turn to electronic media to run their businesses, practically everything ranging from groceries to clothing, cosmetics to furniture, etc., such cases have been pressing the panic button, making identity check of parties. This will not only ease out debit/credit of money but also keep the monetary circulation regulated.

The extensive use of Aadhaar card will help to verify the identity of the bearer and track any unauthentic transactions, if at all it happens. Considering the criticality of background/identity of an individual, Aadhaar held by citizens would be an inevitable step. So, how thoroughly are companies ensuring security and safety? Are all the customers getting thoroughly verified? Given that, most of new biggies in the market are young and dynamic, they like all processes more digitized. Customers put their trust and money both, when making a buy.

Of course, any platform which does not ensure trustworthiness will find it difficult to survive.

A big set of investors are pumping in money in the ‘’unicorns’’. Their main fear is that their big investment may just turn futile. Also, they fear that inadequate background checks and fake degrees and may convert their proposition into a cost.

Use of innovative, scalable and exhaustive background screening tools can enable businesses to transact amongst genuine

Individuals.

An exhaustive verification, constituting of identity check, address check, criminal record check, etc. along with police verification can be considered.

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Investment-Due-Diligence_-An-Investors-guide-to-making-rational-blog-image

Background Checks

Investment Due Diligence: An Investor’s guide to making rational ‘Investments’

Investing in scalable business models and upcoming technology seems to be the new trend. With thousands of ideas floating around with billions of people, investors are finding a tough time in making decisions! Ideas are not enough…

Rightly said, investors need to probe into teams behind the idea. Thorough due diligence of your target investee’s background and financial state is a must do! In addition to this, validation is conducted using social profiles like LinkedIn, Quora etc.,

to check on for their online presence, reputation, market position, partners, etc. So are you planning to invest in businesses? Have you conducted thorough investment risk due diligence on them?

The Investor’s checklist

Company Vitals- Investor’s should probe into basic company vitals Company Vitals like CIN, incorporation details, address, directorships, capital, contact information and more.
Directorships- Check for detailed information about the company’s directors and their directorships in other companies. Probe into possible relationships with present and past directors and more.
Charges- Investors should get access to details of securities/collaterals provided by the company to its lenders.
Financial Details- Check information on company’s financials including Balance sheet, P&L statements, Capital Structure, Financial Ratios and more. This is also available with MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs)
Compliance Check for credit rating of the company and related information regarding negative records like defaulters list, criminal and civil litigation records, reported activities in media and more.
Related Companies Check for information related to holding companies, subsidiaries, joint ventures and associated companies.
Watch out for farce valuations. Overly complex financial projections do not give investment the right direction and goals. The planner needs to have full clarity about the ideas, roadmap, and innovation to scale into newer markets.
Interest for full research of the important content including interactions, advice and connections are the most useful before finalizing on a company for investment.These are trivial things that one should be looking for when it’s specifically a start-up/ new venture. (Read more) It’s equally as applicable to for established businesses but beginners need to be way more cautious. The early stages of a business is serious stuff. Good Investments Lead to Better Future Results There are multiple episodes of people who had investments of quality of where their second tranche of money was seized due to past reputational damages and numerous nefarious acts.Additionally, there are stories of companies that conducted full power due diligence on the opposite party and they turned out to be fugitives/convicts/criminals. As you can probably imagine, having someone like that on your cap table is going to make it a lot less likely. Experienced Due Diligence agencies, background verification companies and experts can help you with valuable information. Don’t be afraid to ask references and be thorough with your research about the person who you’re granting money. If they’re sufficiently motivated and interested, they will happily do so. If you’re sufficiently smart, you’ll be out there for exhaustive background check on the company. And if feels sketchy, you need to think about casting a wider net.

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Weed out Fraudsters: Instant Employee Screening Solutions

The easy entry BPO jobs require young candidates with bare minimum or no experience. Lured by easy money from this sector, candidates turn dishonest, with BPOs left open to exploitation. These new age criminals in turn give rise to frauds, hurting the company reputation and company financials. Resume frauds are already on an all-time high. 1 in every 6 candidates were found to lie on their resumes in FY1. Source: Annual Trend Report 2017.

Do you think it’s an alarming situation?

“Many call centres manage backend and support services for banks. This gives its employees access to sensitive information of clients. Hoping to cash in on this, they supply this information base to a bunch of outsiders, and then use it to dupe people. In return, they mint money on every deal’. ( Source:Times Of India) This issue of rising call centre frauds was also highlighted by a recent in newspaper article. In some cases, these call centre fraudsters give up on their jobs to float their own offices. Some also enter into partnerships with people operating out of the city. Together they set up services involving old company officials, making big money. It is basically a union of call centre employees, ex-employees, information buyers and professional fraudsters.

It clearly brings out consequences of inadequate background check processes and irresponsible hiring policies. Although, call centres are taking precautions to avert bad hiring but there’s a greater need to make it customary and exhaustive. Ruffling through diverse layers of the candidate and practicing intolerance towards trouble makers in the organization must be strictly put in place.

Cautious hiring not only improves quality of work but also acts as a shield against any kind of corporate damage. Obviously, malicious intentions of a first time offender cannot be anticipated but with an overall background check, probable red flags can be known well in time. While a routine background check should be mandated in all organizations, but also an advanced background check for high-impact positions is no less critical. AuthBridge as a successful background verification company has handled many client accounts and mitigated their potential risks. Take up the best background screening partner to verify your potential hires today!

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Fraud on a rise: Gender gap increasingly diminishing

A male candidate is more likely to misrepresent facts compared to females, substantiates one recent AuthBridge study. This is the order consistently for the last three financial years [Source: Annual Trend Report 2017 by AuthBridge].

This is an established fact in itself but when looked at from another perspective, the men women disparity is growing to disappear. This is quite a revelation about the misrepresentation pattern of employees in the organizations across industries. Previously, men had been dominating the crime statistics but now even women are catching up well.

Some important data points: 12.07% of the employment information is misrepresented by males while just 10.15% by females followed by submitting fakes addresses at 6.22% by males while a mere 5.22% by females.

Does the gender difference impact the employee fraud %?

Not anymore in today’s era. The diminishing gender gap in discrepancies not only talks about increased women hiring but also indicates changing work culture and employer preferences. More women employees are hired for responsible positions basis their talent and qualifications and not the gender per se. Not just that many jobs that operate on multiple shifts are also providing appropriate women safety and support. The changing hiring number of women in every sphere of business has led to the disappearing gender gap in employee fraud %.

What can HR possibly do to curb discrepancies and gender discrimination?

HR across the board need employers to take up workplace risks more seriously and chalk out a concrete plan of action for employee screening services. It’s very important to create a solid background verification plan for the organization which are customized according to the position’s risk profile and formulation of strict policies related to hiring.

Structured background verification programs eliminate bias from the hiring cycle by treating all incoming employees at par. Checks like ID verification & criminal history check must be conducted to know the ‘real side’ of the candidate irrespective of the gender. Organisations need to keep upgrading their background screening programmes with changing dynamics within the workplace setting and eliminate any kind of biases at the time of hiring.

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Resume Lies Rising with ‘no holds barred’- What HR needs to Do?

1 in every 6 candidates were found to lie on their resumes in FY17. The discrepancies (mismatch in information shared by a candidate during job application and the information verified during background verification.; source: Annual Trend Report 2017) rose by 48% PAN India compared to FY16, indicating increased fraudulent manipulations to secure lucrative jobs. HR Fraternity is dealing with increased job switches, making talent acquisition and retention extremely critical. Increased attrition, easily available job information on job sites and increased globalization has led to frequent job hopping amongst candidates.

At an alarming discrepancy rate; employee fraud is one of the expensive most liability for an organization. Not yet impressed, here are a few more…

Some More Facts

Past Employment history was the most manipulated, followed by address details. Employee screening services have witnessed radical changes in the last three years. Identity verification has gained significant momentum following increased identity fraud incidents.

4352 candidates in a million were found to produce fake Identity details.
2162 candidates in a million were found discrepant during the police verification
6265 candidates in the million were found to be discrepant in drug test cases.

What’s the Matter Really?

Increased discrepancies across sectors & job titles is disturbing. Frauds during the hiring process leads to Bad Hires. Bad Hires can cost you a world when it comes to Insider Threats, Brand Reputation, Financials, Peer’s safety and Workplace Culture! HR must ensure every candidate is Screened before Hiring!

What is the HR’s Role?

HR across organisations need to mitigate employee risks by adopting structured background screening programs. This involves creating a standard grid for classification of unacceptable gaps in candidate resumes and verified information, formulation of strict policies related to background screening during hiring, and implementing role-based background verification packages. These need to be customised in line with the risk associated with a profile. Structured background verification programs eliminate bias from the hiring cycle by treating all incoming employees at par. Identity verification and criminal background checks should be “must conduct” checks to ensure a safe workplace!

In a nutshell, organisations need to adapt themselves to the changing fraud paradigm and keep reinventing their background verification program to mitigate risks and create a safe workplace! To know more, schedule an appointment with our expert today.

Write to us at communication@authbridge.com.

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Bridging the gap between Trust and Talent

15.21% candidates misrepresented info. to their employers in FY 2017 to bag lucrative jobs! (Ref: Annual Trend Report 2017 by AuthBridge)

Trust is the essence of all human relationships!

Organizations hire Talent to ensure business success. However, they need to take a brutally honest view of the talent they hire- Are they trustworthy? Is the candidate safe for their peers? Does the candidate have the right skills? Is the candidate likely to impact brand reputation & company’s financials? Hiring managers review resumes and conduct interviews to build trust in a candidate. Some organizations also conduct

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Background Checks

Start-up Mayhem: Conduct Full Power Due Diligence

The digital revolution has brought in massive disruption with technology consistently advancing over the years. With that the culture of start-ups only seem to get more chaotic over the rapidly changing times. There has been a major paradigm shift.

Investors intending to inject funds into start-ups also run background checks and it works vice-versa. That way start-ups need to conduct thorough due diligence on their investors, vendors, partners, etc. to clearly gauge their capabilities and competencies. An exhaustive due diligence is inevitable for budding organizations especially, seeking debt and equity financing. Hence, due diligence is important on both sides of the table. A recent news reported how 52,911 profitable Indian companies pay zero tax so how do they make it possible? It is acceptable for companies partnering with them? It is very important to look through the pros and cons of an investment before putting in scarce resources and money.

The reasons for start-ups to perform exhaustive due diligence: To identify any issues with the partner/business that must tidy up before any settlement is agreed upon. To spot issues that could be turn out to be deal breakers Availability of limited resources with the start up Alliance with reputable partners Synergy of abilities, competencies, etc. It was observed that many-a-times companies revoked contracts due to directors of partnering firms demonstrating certain behavioural concerns at the management level.

We have seen some aspiring entrepreneurs bearing the brunt due to some bad decisions at the brink of their ventures. Financial institutions are bound by a regulation called KYC (know your customer). Companies also follow similar KYC for investors/partners. You should want to know who is investing, why are they investing, who are they, how they earned their money, what is their risk attitude and appetite and other such valuable points. A thorough due diligence helps to know the promoters and their intentions as a part of an investment decision-making process.

With the growing instances of frauds and the increasing regulatory watch on investments, this ensures that investees are entities of repute and can safely operate and grow in an increasingly global business environment.

By Shivangi, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

Background Checks

What’s new in the Insurance Industry? Unveil with background screening

In the insurance industry, there are a lot of perils to protect integrity of the company, holding sensitive information of the users. Considering the fact that the insurance industry deals with a lot of confidential information, most of the insurance companies are very well-regulated and deeply concerned about compliance and government norms. It is hence unavoidable to conduct employee screening on insurance professionals to effectively investigate superficial claims made, identify potential signs of fraud and reduce any probable financial loss.

There are instances of corporate fraud being committed by professionals which calls for remarkably honest employees. One poor hiring decision can certainly have a negative impact on the sector as many cases of fraud, misconduct or theft of sensitive information are likely to happen. Fraud and theft of confidential information committed by insurance professionals continue to greatly cost the industry.

In today’s stringent regulatory context, financial houses have to be aggressively vigilant in compliance and recruitment policies. That’s why most of these financial institutions including banks, brokerage houses, insurance firms etc. need to screen and hire talented individuals only.

The share of misrepresentations in the financial sector including insurance and banks has seen a substantial increase, majorly due to limited job opportunities in this sector. However, the discrepancy rate at 23.99% is the highest amongst all industries. [Source: AuthBridge Annual Trend Report]

Suggested checks for this industry can be listed as shown below:

Instant ID Checks
Criminal Background Check
National Criminal Database Check
Credit Check
Employment Check
Education Check
Drug Abuse Test

All operations of a company are detailed and play an important role in protecting the integrity, name, reputation of one’s company. It is imperative that operations are managed correctly and that the right team is hired with the right calibre, skill sets, attitude, past history etc. to keep the business moving forward and protect the brand. Hiring of quality workforce will only enhance the hiring processes and also the very answer to the challenge of the insurance sector. With an effective background screening policy in place, insurance industry can minimise the risk of the fraud, theft and employee misconduct to a large extent which will be of great assistance in the long term success. Comprehensive background screening helps to ensure that the evil intentions of individuals/entities are mapped well in time. This beginner’s step does contribute in a big way to the society and people to weed out unwanted actions and behaviour towards humanity, in general.

By admin, 5 yearsDecember 10, 2019 ago

iBRIDGE 2.0 – The Next-Gen Background Verification Platform

Background Checks

Will extensive Aadhaar Card linkages prevent identity fraud?

Background Checks

Investment Due Diligence: An Investor’s guide to making rational ‘Investments’

Background Checks

Weed out Fraudsters: Instant Employee Screening Solutions

Background Checks

Fraud on a rise: Gender gap increasingly diminishing

Background Checks

Resume Lies Rising with ‘no holds barred’- What HR needs to Do?

Background Checks

Bridging the gap between Trust and Talent

Background Checks

Start-up Mayhem: Conduct Full Power Due Diligence

Background Checks

What’s new in the Insurance Industry? Unveil with background screening

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December 10, 2019

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