Professional License is this weeks Top Resume Lie

Becky Nadine Hunter worked as a registered nurse in Alaska from 1998 to 2004, working first as a school nurse with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, then for the U.S. Department of Labor. After an investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Postal Service, Hunter was arrested, convicted of mail fraud and other crimes, and ordered to serve an eight-year sentence and repay her former employers the more than $18,000.00 she earned as their employee. Hunter and her attorney argued that she shouldn’t have to repay the money because she actually performed the services of a registered nurse.

Where’s the problem? After all, if Ms. Hunter, as a registered nurse, performed the duties of a registered nurse, why should she be forced to repay her employers?

Because Hunter isn’t, and never was, a registered nurse.

Upon moving to Alaska in 1998, Hunter devised more than 20 aliases in order to defraud her employers, creditors, and the federal government. She obtained nursing licenses in Alaska using the personal information of real registered nurses in New York and Canada. Hunter and her attorney argued that she should not be required to repay her former employers because she actually did work as a nurse.

The court ruled that Hunter had to repay her employers because they were the “victims” of her fraud. However, Hunter’s victims could have easily been the hundreds of patients she had direct contact with during her illegal tenure as a medical professional. Her fraud, and her employers’ lack of due diligence when investigating her professional credentials, left numerous individuals and their families open to harm.

As an employer, the only way to guard against cons like Hunter’s is to ensure that you perform a thorough background check of each employee you intend to extend an offer of employment.

Such a background check should include not only calling and verifying previous employers, but also a criminal records check and a credential and professional license verification. Never take a job candidate’s word or accept credentials presented by that individual directly. Always require that professional licenses be verified through the issuing authority.

Although, in this case, Hunter used the identities of real registered nurses to obtain employment, a combined check, including a background screening requiring fingerprints and a professional license verification would have quickly uncovered a suspicious discrepancy. Employers must take care to be as thorough as possible in their employment screening efforts to ensure that they and those they serve are safe.

AccuScreen CEO Will Discuss Resume Lying on Fox 13 News Tampa Bay

In a segment to appear during the Fox 13 Late News, Kevin Connell of AccuScreen addresses the increased incidence of resume falsifications and provides advice for job-seekers and employers.

Tampa, FL / January 14, 2009 – AccuScreen Founder and CEO Kevin Connell will appear today on the 10 p.m. edition of the Fox 13 News in a segment focusing on resume lying among job-seekers. Following its broadcast the segment will be available for archived viewing on the Fox 13 website.

AccuScreen is a leader and expert in employment background screening, specializing in criminal background checks. Connell will speak on the most common resume lies that his firm finds in their work with employers. The most common resume falsifications involve these key pieces of information:

• Dates of employment
• Job title (inflated rank)
• Criminal records
• Salary level
• Education (e.g. bogus degrees from diploma ‘mills’)

• Professional license (e.g. MD, RN, CPA, etc.)
• Self-owned business (e.g. ‘ghost’ company)

“In a challenging economy, people tend to lie more,” says Connell. “I regularly teach classes and seminars about the routine causes of fraud in the workplace. These same elements are at work in resume lying and employers have a measure of control in addressing these factors.”

According to Connell, job-seekers must be made aware that in an especially competitive job market, employers are intensely scrutinizing employment backgrounds, education credentials, and other key information contained in their resume or application.

“It’s a buyer’s market for hiring managers and recruiters,” says Connell. “Our clients, who know that 43% of resumes we screen include a discrepancy, likewise know to be vigilant and thorough in their background screening measures.”

Those who wish to view the Fox News Segment during the on-air broadcast should tune in at 10 p.m. The segment will be available for viewing online. AccuScreen will provide a link to the recorded broadcast on their website.

For additional information about resume lying and matters of employment screening, AccuScreen provides an eBook, “The Business Guide to Background Checks” available on the company blog for download here: http://www.backgroundcheckscenter.com/

About AccuScreen, Inc.

Since 1994, AccuScreen, Inc. has been an industry pioneer, leader and expert in employment background screening, specializing in criminal background checks. Its reports are delivered to companies across the world in 2 – 72 hours. CEO Kevin G. Connell founded the company with a burning desire that companies hire the right people from the start, resulting in greater cost control and better safety in the workplace. Mr. Connell also serves as a national speaker and expert in negligent hiring, resume fraud, employee theft, and embezzlement.

AccuScreen CEO Will Discuss Resume Lying on Fox 13 News Tampa Bay

In a segment to appear during the Fox 13 Late News, Kevin Connell of AccuScreen addresses the increased incidence of resume falsifications and provides advice for job-seekers and employers.

Tampa, FL / January 14, 2009 – AccuScreen Founder and CEO, Kevin Connell, will appear today on the 10 p.m. edition of the Fox 13 News in a segment focusing on resume lying among job-seekers. Following its broadcast the segment will be available for archived viewing on the Fox 13 website.

AccuScreen is a leader and expert in employment background screening, specializing in criminal background checks. Connell will speak on the most common resume lies that his firm finds in their work with employers. The most common resume falsifications involve these key pieces of information:

• Dates of employment
• Job title (inflated rank)
• Criminal records
• Salary level
• Education (e.g. bogus degrees from diploma ‘mills’)
• Professional license (e.g. MD, RN, CPA, etc.)
• Self-owned business (e.g. ‘ghost’ company)

“In a challenging economy, people tend to lie more,” says Connell. “I regularly teach classes and seminars about the routine causes of fraud in the workplace. These same elements are at work in resume lying and employers have a measure of control in addressing these factors.”

According to Connell, job-seekers must be made aware that in an especially competitive job market, employers are intensely scrutinizing employment backgrounds, education credentials, and other key information contained in their resume or application.

“It’s a buyer’s market for hiring managers and recruiters,” says Connell. “Our clients, who know that 43% of resumes we screen include a discrepancy, likewise know to be vigilant and thorough in their background screening measures.”

Those who wish to view the Fox News Segment during the on-air broadcast should tune in at 10 p.m. The segment will be available for viewing online. AccuScreen will provide a link to the recorded broadcast on their website.

For additional information about resume lying and matters of employment screening, AccuScreen provides an eBook, “The Business Guide to Background Checks” available on the company blog for download here: http://www.backgroundcheckscenter.com/

About AccuScreen, Inc.

Since 1994, AccuScreen, Inc. has been an industry pioneer, leader and expert in employment background screening, specializing in criminal background checks. Its reports are delivered to companies across the world in 2 – 72 hours. CEO, Kevin G. Connell, founded the company with a burning desire that companies hire the right people from the start, resulting in greater cost control and better safety in the workplace. Mr. Connell also serves as a national speaker and expert in negligent hiring, resume fraud, employee theft, and embezzlement.