Unemployment crisis blamed for CV fraud

WITH the unemployment rate now at a staggering 27.7% – the highest since the first quarter of 2004 – the South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) fears an increase of CV fraud in the country.

SAFPS Executive Director Manie van Schalkwyk said youth are becoming increasingly anxious, agitated and searching for creative ways to earn a living.

‘In this environment, you cannot write off the temptation that confronts young people to commit fraud when doors slam shut in their faces or do not even open in the first place.

‘The obvious temptation is CV doctoring. By adding a few tweaks, candidates may make their application appear more professional than they actually are and increase chances for a job interview.

‘Qualification fraud is simple enough to perform and with any luck an applicant may land an interview, even a job offer.

‘But a few months into the job the employer will begin to wonder why the candidate’s skills and abilities do not match up to the qualifications he or she has presented on their CV.
‘Questions will be asked.’

He warned youth in search of work that the fraudulent activity is criminal.

‘When you are exposed as a fraud, you will have a criminal record.

‘For young people who are employed who wish to apply for store cards, credit cards or any type of credit, there is the temptation to stretch the salary or the length of time spent in a particular workplace to increase their chances of credit approval or credit limit.

‘But falsifying this information constitutes fraud.’

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Steering deception

Another prominent fraud activity among young graduates has been persuading parents to front for their vehicle insurance.

‘In this case, the individual may wish to have car insurance, but after phoning some insurance companies they learn that their premium is higher than expected because of their lack of driving experience,’ stated SAFPS.

‘They often persuade their parents to front for the policy, so that the policy is held in the parent’s name.’

Short Term Insurance Ombudsman Deanne Wood said older drivers certainly pay significantly lower premiums, ‘enough to encourage consumers to provide inaccurate information about who the regular driver of a vehicle will be.

‘Our office sees far too many claims being submitted where, for example, parents have represented that they will be the regular driver of a vehicle when in fact the vehicle was purchased by them for use by their child.

‘Paying the lower premium is all well and good until a loss is suffered.

‘Simple desk-top investigations using Facebook or other social media searches can all too easily reveal misrepresentations made by consumers who forget to cover their tracks when making misrepresentations to their insurance companies.’