In a more digitalized hiring environment, candidates and impersonators become increasingly difficult to distinguish.
With the shift toward remote and hybrid recruitment strategies, interview impersonation — where the real job candidate is not the person showing up for interviews, tests, or onboarding phases — has become a new problem.
What was previously an uncommon and brazen strategy is now an increasing worry, particularly for businesses where identity, compliance, and credibility are paramount.
Must Read: Deepfake Resumes & Video Interviews: The New Hiring Challenge
What Is Interview Impersonation?
Interview impersonation happens when an imposter pretends to be the job candidate — frequently employing shared credentials, deepfakes, or pre-recorded answers — in the course of an interview or onboarding. This strategy can occur in several forms:
Live video interviews
Pre-recorded video tests
Remote coding or skill tests
Document submission and ID verification
Most cases are opportunistic — usually a friend or proxy applying in place of the actual candidate — but there are also indications of organized fraud rings providing impersonation as a “service,” especially for well-paying, remote positions.
Why Is It Happening?
Several reasons explain the growth of interview impersonation:
Remote-first hiring: Reduced face-to-face contact results in fewer physical checks of identity.
High job competition: Coercion to get a position at any cost.
Outsourcing of test-taking: Candidates hire others to pass interviews for them.
Weak digital verification tools for screening and onboarding.
What’s at Stake?
Impersonation of an interview can look like an isolated problem, but the ramifications are extensive:
Incorrect hiring, incorrect risk: You bring on board an individual whose identity, qualifications, and history were never checked.
Compliance and liability concerns: Particularly for highly regulated sectors such as BFSI, healthcare, or IT services dealing with sensitive information.
Reputation risks: Customers and stakeholders can lose confidence if impersonation causes security or performance violations.
Internal disruption: An effective but unsuccessful candidate after hiring can drag down whole teams.
Red Flags to Watch For
HR and hiring managers should remain vigilant for indications such as:
Consistent speech, body language, or video quality during interviews
Refusal to change cameras or present ID live
Mismatch between documents provided and live interaction
Delay in returning follow-up technical or cultural interviews
Candidate demanding asynchronous or audio-only interviews
Real-World Examples
These are not just theoretical threats. Here are two real-world scenarios reported by recruiters:
Case 1: The “New Joiner” Nobody Recognized
A new remote hire always refrained from video calls. When the company asked them to report for an in-person meet, the manager discovered — the individual who showed up was not the one interviewed.
Case 2: The Disappeared Skill Post-Hire
During the interviews, a candidate boasted impressive technical skills. But once hired, they couldn’t cope with simple tasks. Through a background check, it was found that the candidate had hired someone else for the interview.
These scenarios are now becoming more frequent across tech, BPO, and remote-centric jobs — especially where recruitment is volume-based or time-limited.
Preventing It
The following are actions organisations can take to minimise interview impersonation risk:
1. Implement Live Video Interviews (with Monitoring)
Always have at least one live, real-time interview — ideally with cameras on — and evaluate both communication and behavioral signals.
2. Identity Verification Pre or Post-Interview
Check candidate ID via PAN, Aadhaar, Passport, or alike. Employ digital KYC solutions if they exist.
Sophisticated systems can check whether the individual is genuine, alive, and resembles submitted documents or photos.
4. Assign Proctored Assessments
For talent-based positions, utilize secure, supervised testing platforms to verify authenticity.
5. Ask Open-ended, Role-Specific Questions
Impersonators tend to struggle with questions that need personal context, cultural familiarity, or inter-functional thinking.
6. Validate Previous Employment and Credentials
Use employment verification, education checks, and background screening to verify authenticity after the interview stage.
Why This Isn’t Just an HR Problem
Interview impersonation is not just a recruitment technicality. It’s a wider risk concern:
It jeopardizes compliance in regulated sectors
It escalates insider threat potential
It ruins trust among teams, particularly when impostor hires do not deliver
And it sets a precedent that can subtly impact culture and accountability
The Path Forward
As virtual hiring becomes more advanced, so must the process we have in place to verify candidates.
This isn’t surveillance — it’s transparency.
By creating processes that strike a balance between speed, experience, and verification, businesses can prevent themselves from being sitting ducks for impersonation scams — and make sure they hire the right candidates for the right reasons.
Because when it comes to hiring, it’s not so much about who walks in the door — it’s about who actually shows up.
FAQs: Interview Impersonation
Q1. What is interview impersonation?
A: Interview impersonation is a type of hiring deceit in which the person presenting for interview is not the individual applying for the job. This may involve sending a proxy to respond to a video interview, sub-contracting testing, or impersonating with fraudulent documents.
Q2. Why has interview impersonation become more common?
A: The emergence of virtual hiring, remote testing, and asynchronous interviewing has opened up more avenues for candidates to influence the process — particularly when identity is not strongly established at every step.
Q3. What are the most frequent indicators of impersonation during an interview?
A: Red flags are:
Camera or light problems denying visible clarity
Voice and lip-sync mismatch
Inconsistent responses across rounds
Avoidance of live conversation or follow-ups
Poor performance after hire but good interview results
Q4. Is impersonation only an issue for technical or remote positions?
A: No. Although it’s more common in technology, BPO, and high-volume recruitment settings, impersonation can happen in any position where remote interviewing or digital onboarding is conducted — such as sales, customer support, and freelance work.
Q5. How can firms mitigate the risk of interview deception?
A: Companies can mitigate impersonation by:
Working mandatory live video rounds
Checking ID documents prior to or in the process
Working secure, proctored tests
Checking voice and video consistency cross-match
Interviewer training to identify red flags
Q6. Can interview impersonation be identified after hiring?
A: Yes. In most situations, impersonation is revealed post-hire — when performance problems arise or during face-to-face meetings. This highlights the value of verification at early stages.
Q7. Is impersonation regarded as an offense under law?
A: It is possible. Impersonating identity or credentials while in a hiring process can be in violation of employment legislation, subject to jurisdiction, and can result in termination, blacklisting, or legal proceedings.
Leave a Reply