Welcome to The Hero 🗞️. This is approximately a 4-minute read.
🔍 Why fake candidates are surging in 2026
🚩 The red flags that should trigger a deeper look
🤯 How to verify your candidate is who they say they are
Fake Candidate Caught on Camera!
TL;DR
Gartner predicts 1 in 4 candidate profiles will be fake by 2028
Deepfakes, proxy interviews, and AI-generated resumes are now mainstream
If a resume looks too good to be true, it probably is
Verify early and often - but don't assume everyone's lying 🙂
🚨 AI-Powered Candidate Fraud Is Here
Fake resumes aren't new.
Anyone who's posted a job on Indeed, Dice, or LinkedIn knows the game - polished profiles that look great but aren't who you think they are.
But what's new:
AI is making it effortless for anyone to fabricate experience.
ChatGPT writes tailored resumes in seconds.
Deepfakes pass video screens.
Proxy services take technical interviews for a fee.
Gartner predicts 1 in 4 candidate profiles will be fake by 2028.
And the FTC reports job scam losses jumped from $90M in 2020 to over $500M in 2024.
This isn't paranoia.
It's a longstanding reality in our space - and it's worse than ever.
The full breakdown is just below - don’t miss it! 😉
🔗 Links of the Day:
Here are some of the best links I’ve found since last time I emailed you:
🗺️ Interview Strategy
How to Structure Effective Job Interviews: A Guide for Hiring Managers (link)
Conducting Unbiased Interviews: Best Practices for Hiring Managers (link)
🔎 Onboarding
Onboarding: The New Hire Checklist (link)
12 Onboarding Best Practices for New Employees (2025) (link)
🤖 AI Recruiting Tool
AI-Powered Recruiting: Separating Hype from ROI (link)
6 Ways AI in Recruiting Automation Is Transforming Hiring (link)
🧠 Verify Early, Verify Often
The goal isn't to treat every applicant like a suspect.
It's to know when something's off - and act on it fast.
Most candidates are real.
But the fakes are getting better, and one bad hire can cost you months, tens of thousands in salary, and potentially a security breach.
So what's the new standard?
Healthy skepticism.
And trust your gut when something feels off (watch the video above for signs).
🚩 Resume Red Flags
Too perfect.
Every skill matches the JD. No gaps. No weaknesses.
Buzzword soup, zero specifics.
"Led digital transformation leveraging Agile methodologies" - but no project names, team sizes, or outcomes.
Unverifiable employers.
Company names with no digital footprint.
References are gmail addresses.
Timelines don’t add up.
10 years' experience, but graduated 5 years ago.
Overlapping jobs with no explanation.
📞 On the call:
Weird pauses before answers.
Could be nerves.
But could also be someone (or an LLM) - feeding them lines off-camera 👀
Can't go deeper on their own resume.
"Tell me about that cloud migration you led." [crickets]
Reading their resume back to you verbatim.
Real candidates can elaborate.
Fake candidates regurgitate.
Voice or accent shifts between rounds.
Different person, same "candidate."
Camera always off.
"Bad internet" every time = they're hiding something.
👃 The “Smell Test”
1. Verify early.
Don't wait until the offer stage.
A 5-minute LinkedIn cross-check, or a quick reference call can save you weeks and tens of thousands of dollars.
2. Ask for specifics.
"What was the hardest part of that project?"
"Who was your manager there?"
"What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?”
“How many people were apart of the team?”
Legitimate candidates have stories. Frauds have scripts -
You'll know the difference.
3. Use video (require it).
One security firm caught a deepfake by asking the candidate to wave their hand in front of their face.
The AI couldn't handle it. (Yes, really)
4. Trust your gut.
If something feels off, it probably is.
Pause. Dig deeper.
It's not rude - it's due diligence.
To Sum It Up…
AI didn't invent resume fraud - it just scaled it.
And To Wrap It Up…
The goal isn't suspicion. It's pattern recognition.
Learn the tells.
Catch the fakes.
Save everyone a headache.
HOW WE CAN HELP?
There are a few ways:
Or you can just reply to this email.
I reply to absolutely everyone who writes me back 🙂
