TechM turns to digital signatures to counter fake hiring scams

Fake jobs rackets have been there for quite some time but the instances reported have gone up, says company's Chief Risk Officer

IT firm Tech Mahindra is now turning to digital signatures to help job seekers distinguish genuine offer letters from the fake ones and not fall prey to fraudsters.

Tech Mahindra has stepped up its efforts to fight impostors who claim to be its representative offering jobs at the company in exchange for anything between a few thousand rupees to Rs 1 lakh.

"Fake jobs rackets have been there for quite some time but the instances reported have gone up. These fraudsters claim to be from the company and promise jobs in exchange for money. They are also very cautious and they keep changing their email IDs, bank account details to ensure that they can't be tracked," Tech Mahindra Chief Risk Officer Sunil Sanger told PTI.

He added that these groups are also technology-savvy and often set up websites that resemble the company's official website.

"We are now implementing technology solutions to help curb this menace. We want to ensure that people do not fall prey to such schemes. One of the steps is introducing digital signatures to make our offer letters more secure," Sanger said.

Mails like "Recruiters from Techmahindra are asking your fully updated profile and confirmation from you to shortlist your profile" or "Send your confirmation by uploading your profile to get shortlisted" are sent, which leads to a genuine-looking website are used by these fraudsters.

He said such rackets are running across the country and are especially strong in cities like Pune, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore and Hyderabad, which are hubs for IT companies.

"Often these people schedule interviews in some other city and ask the target to travel at short notice. They make the offer look genuine, almost like a once in a lifetime opportunity. And many fall prey," he said.

The company is also working actively with law enforcement agencies and industry body Nasscom on the issue.

"We regularly send out communication to public at large. People do not have to pay money to work with us, in fact we pay our employees as part of the referral system to induct fresh talent," he said.