Case Study
A twin faked identity to take her dead sister’s place at an organisation - a shocking case of identity fraud!
About the Case
Uncovering the truth about stolen identities with a series of background verification checks to enable the company to make informed decision.
Industry
Others
Size
Key results
- Tracked a shocking case of candidate impersonation.
- This case served as a timely reminder of how easy it is to conduct identity theft, and gender is not necessarily a bar to deceitful actions.
Products and Solutions
Define the Problem
Note: All our clients send the newly hired employees a detailed job application form. This is an exhaustive document and requires extensive details – educational qualifications, previous employment details and personal particulars of the employee. AuthBridge researchers conduct their Employee Background Verification based on this and other supporting documents.
Navneet cited two previous employers on her job application form but provided documentation of only one. We started by contacting the earlier two job references. The HR department confirmed that the proof of employment furnished by Navneet was authentic, except for the employment dates.
- The actual dates of employment were January 19, 2005, till October 2005.
- It was changed on the document we were provided to read as June 19, 2004.
What stunned us was that this employer told us that Navneet had died a year after leaving their organisation! He further added that she had been married.
The second employer, on being contacted, denied ever hiring Navneet. However, he provided us with information that put us on high alert. They employed another lady with the same father’s name and address, hinting that the two ladies might be sisters.
How AuthBridge Helped
Conducted physical address verification for the given address
AuthBridge’s field staff visited the residential address Navneet provided and spoke to her mother, who stated she had two daughters. One was married and lived in Chandigarh, and the other was employed by our client.
Contacted applicant’s brother
AuthBridge then contacted Navneet’s brother via telephone. He stated that one of his sisters, who had been married, had died and that he lived with his mother and Navneet. We now had two pieces to assemble this puzzle – one of the sisters was dead and married, and the other lived with her mother and brother.
Reference checks with multiple ex-employers
AuthBridge researchers found the final piece by sending the latest available photograph of Navneet to her first employer, who apprised us that Navneet died a year after working for them. He stated the girl in the photo was not the one that had worked for him.
The second employer, who had hinted the two might be sisters, was also shown the photograph. He did a comparison check with the photo in his records. He observed that despite their similarities, they were not the same girl. The AuthBridge Research Team also carefully examined and compared the photographs and came to the same conclusion.
The final confession
When presented with the conclusions of our report, Navneet confessed that she was impersonating her sister. She could get away with it for so long because the real Navneet- her sister – had died of pneumonia just before she was to take up her job, and no checks or documentation were required at the time of joining.
Conclusion
This case serves as a timely reminder to all organisations of how easy it is for fraud and identity theft to occur. Businesses need to take an extra step to carry out thorough background checks and verifications of claims by new appointees.
In fact, conducting periodic background screening of current employees also makes sense. AuthBridge has the right solution for this – Post Employment Risk Watch – AuthXtend™.
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