Move over, “Tell me your biggest weakness,” a new weird interview question has surfaced: “Can you wave?”

Not kidding.

AI-generated deepfakes and candidate fraud is growing in recruiting, and—in response—talent acquisition (TA) pros are learning new ways to suss out the fit of a candidate, and that assessment now must include, “Are you real?”

“Fraud hiring isn’t new…it’s really just evolved,” said Julia Frament, Head of Global HR at IRONSCALES, a cybersecurity company specializing in email. “Before it was mostly misrepresentation, so candidates stretching titles or fabricating degrees, maybe borrowing experience…maybe ghosting verification, using fake references, using friends to pose as past managers.”

But now the toolbox for candidate fraud is expansive. ChatGPT can write up a perfect résumé and cover letter to match an opening; generative AI tools can create realistic images and content like responses to interview questions; it’s also relatively easy to design a “real” LinkedIn page for a fake professional.

In fact, up to one-fourth of all job applications could be deepfakes or fraudulent by 2028, according to an April report from Gartner.

“At first glance, it seems like it’s just bad hires, fake resumes, fraud, but it is so much bigger than HR,” Frament said. “It really is about trust and security, which can lead to massive problems within a business.”

System access and security, business data, customer data, financial information, employee information, and business reputation are all at risk, Frament suggested. If nothing else, for the HR or TA pro, dealing with fraudulent candidates adds friction to the hiring process, slows down time to hire, and generates a lot of extra work.

How to spot fraud? Frament said red flags often appear early in application materials.

“The biggest thing that a lot of us are seeing is the overly polished résumés…a strong recruiter is going to see that immediately and raise a red flag.”

Other fraud indicators include a noticeable mismatch between verbal and written communication, an unusual cadence on camera, or an audio delay that’s a little off, she said.

“I work for a 100% remote company, and I definitely think we're more susceptible because it’s easier for someone to fake their location and identity when they’re interacting with us via Zoom versus having to show up for an in-person interview,” said Bonnie Dilber, a recruiter at the workflow automation software platform Zapier and content creator who posts to social media about recruiting. “I will say that I know someone who hired someone who was lying about their identity, and that was for an in-person role with a fully in-person hiring process.”

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