White collars felt in war on CV fraud

It costs British industry millions of pounds a year. It can result in prosecution and, ultim- ately, imprisonment. And three in four of us are guilty of it.

It costs British industry millions of pounds a year. It can result in prosecution and, ultim- ately, imprisonment. And three in four of us are guilty of it.

CV fraud has now become such a major problem that some of the UK's leading companies have called in specialists to fight it. As a result, white collars are being felt up and down the country.

Some of Britain's foremost financial and recruitment consultants, including Barclays Financial Management, Reed Solutions, Capital Bank, Lombard Asset Finance, Bank Leumi and MSB International, not to mention department store chain Allders, have all, quite simply, seen one massaged GCSE result too many.

They are among more than 160 companies who have turned to Nottingham-based Experian, a rapidly expanding organisation specifically equipped to police CV crime.

"CV fraud is a serious and growing problem," said Steven Sayers of Experian. "Companies in all sectors of industry are starting to realise the damage it can do to them, both financially and in terms of reputation. We launched this product at the beginning of the year, and now we are completing between five and six hundred checks a week."

Experian offers a series of personal checks, ranging in price from £5.15 to £50. The company constructs a highly detailed picture of each applicant, investigating everything from date of birth and school records to specific projects undertaken at previous jobs.

"Approximately 75 per cent of all CVs have some form of embellishment and 25 per cent contain outright lies," said Mr Sayers. "If you consider that the process of recruiting an individual at management level costs approximately £19,500, companies have to be sure. That's why £50 is such a small price to pay."

Perhaps it is an investment that Manchester United should have looked into earlier this year before they recruited Alison Ryan as their £125,000-a-year head of communications. Less than two weeks later, Ryan's CV was exposed as a pack of lies and she was sacked. Among her embellishments were a first-class degree from Cambridge, a distinction in her common professional examination and a forged reference. In reality, she had been disbarred by the Bar Council after being charged with nine counts of professional misconduct the previous year.

"The job market has become increasingly competitive," said Mr Sayers. "People will do anything to ensure that they get on shortlists. They think that the CV is just a tool to get them inside - into an interview."

"Far too many people have been, and are, lying on their CVs," agreed Nick Isles of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development yesterday. "It has been recognised as a real problem and, increasingly, employers are starting to do something about it.

"There are plenty of good reasons to make the most of what you've done - to blow your own trumpet on your CV. The problems begin when you start adding the other instruments of the orchestra as well.

"It is partially related to the emergence of a winner-takes-all market. There has definitely been a dramatic increase in numbers of people attempting to get into the financial services and legal sectors over the last 10 years. This has meant a huge temptation for people to exaggerate their achievements to get their foot in the door. It's the Jeffrey Archer syndrome."

However, over the past year, a number of contenders have emerged to challenge for Archer's crown. They range from the prospective pilot refused a job by Virgin after it found that his only experience in a "cockpit" was behind the wheel of a bus, to Sion Jenkins, the deputy headmaster convicted of murdering his foster-daughter Billie-Jo.

During the police investigation, Jenkins' CV was found to consist of 80 per cent lies. He claimed to have gained four A-levels at Gordonstoun, followed by a 2:1 in English Literature from Kent University. In reality, he had only four O-levels and a teaching certificate.

"This kind of thing does make me angry," said Steven Edwards, Managing Director of Q-Check Direct, a company involved in the checking of academic records. "We place such an emphasis on schooling, yet the whole thing is being undermined by people making it up as they go along."

Sarah El-Doori, head of marketing and PR at Office Angels, said: "The whole point of a CV is as a sales tool. You have to present your skills in the best possible light, so it's quite tempting to buff them up. The market is increasingly competitive and sometimes it's difficult to distinguish the fraudulent from the faithful."