Identity/biometrics/technology marketing and writing services
I admit to being old enough to remember that a particular corporate department was always called “Human Resources.”
Times have changed.
This hit me when I saw a reference to a “People Manager.”
I initially thought to myself, aren’t ALL managers People Managers?
Then I remembered that we live in the days where AI helps companies jettison people…I mean, rightsize corporate outcomes to maximize efficiencies.
At the rate we’re going, hardly any managers will actually manage people.
Who is applying for your job?
Know your job applicant.
A supposed recruiter on LinkedIn with 2 names (Adriana, and Linda) and only 2 connections (whoops, now 3) tried to scam a friend of mine.
But my friend smelled a rat.
Another employment scammer.
Know your recruiter!
(Hiring rat picture from Imagen 4)
I’ve written about the fake recruiters who InMail you about a great position with their company. I shut up the fakes by requesting their corporate email address at their supposed employer. But what if LinkedIn could catch them BEFORE they ever sent that InMail to me?
LinkedIn is trying.
From HR Dive, brought to my attention by Jennifer Schlador on LinkedIn.
“LinkedIn is looking to take on scammers who falsely present themselves as recruiters or company representatives in the app, with an expansion of its company verification option, while it’s also making workplace verification required when a member adds or updates a leadership or recruiter-related role.”
Of course, the proposed Know Your Recruiter system isn’t foolproof; nothing is. Scammers can avoid the LinkedIn verification step by simply NOT choosing a leadership or recruiter-related job title.
And as much as people like me wish that people would care about verified identities…many don’t.
But at least the attempt demonstrates that LinkedIn cares more about their real users than about the scammers who pay for Premium.
This is what happens when an employment fraudster tries to recruit an anti-fraud identity professional.
Not that she/he/they necessarily knows what I do. The message just refers to my “background information” and “the position” and “the company.”
Seems legit.
“Amanda.” https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-rodriguez-155a17378
Here’s the message.
“I am currently working as a Temporary Recruiting Assistant, assisting the company in finding a suitable candidate to fill an open position.
“After reading your background information, I believe that you have the experience and abilities that are highly qualified for this position.
“If you are interested in this opportunity, you are more than welcome to get back to me and I will be happy to provide you with more information about the position.
“Thank you for your time and look forward to your reply!
“Amanda Rodriguez
Temporary Recruitment Assistant | Administrative Support in Talent Acquisition”
I don’t know Spencer Stuart but they presumably wouldn’t hire a clown like this, even in a temporary capacity.
Here’s my reply, but the account disappeared before I could send it.
“If you are truly targeting anti-fraud identity verification product marketing professionals, your pitch itself sounds like it was written by a scammer fraudster. Even in his current condition, Kevin Mitnick wouldn’t fall for this scam.”
Know your recruiter!
When a company announces its intent to buy another company, certain activities at both firms may be stalled.
This can be a good thing, as certain Motorola employees and IDEMIA lawyers know.
In late 2008 and early 2009 Motorola was in trouble—so much trouble that it would eventually bifurcate. (Heh.) So Motorola was laying off employees throughout the company…
…except in the Biometric Business Unit where I resided. Safran had announced its intent purchase that unit, and Motorola was obligated to deliver that unit to Safran intact.
So I kept my job…for another 12 years anyway.
Anyway, Motorola’s Biometric Business Unit became part of Safran and then IDEMIA. And according to ID Tech, IDEMIA is the beneficiary of new acquisition activity.
“A legal dispute between South African Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) firm INFOVERGE and French multinational IDEMIA has stalled, with INFOVERGE citing ongoing acquisition activity involving IDEMIA’s South African subsidiary as the reason for the delay. The firm is seeking R39 million in damages over what it describes as a breach of contractual obligations by IDEMIA.
“INFOVERGE told reporters that it had been informed IDEMIA’s South African division is undergoing a corporate transaction, which has effectively paused the litigation process. ‘We’ve been told that the South African arm of IDEMIA is under acquisition … which leaves our legal matter in some kind of limbo as we wait,’ an INFOVERGE spokesperson said, adding that the prolonged delay is impacting their ability to fulfill their empowerment mandate.”
I’m not sure whether the completed IN Groupe acquisition is the culprit, or if the possible public security sale is to blame.
While the fraud fighting companies don’t differentiate themselves, it turns out the fraudsters aren’t differentiating themselves either.
Take Gibson Karen, who commented that I should connect a particular person in Gibson’s network.
Don’t they even try any more?
You don’t need 30 years of identity experience to recognize employment fraud when you see it.
People can use forged government identities to scare you, rob you, or kill you. How can you protect yourself from fake law enforcement officers, or fake ICE agents? And how can police agencies and ICE protect THEMSELVES from these fakes?
I’ve already shared the story of the person driving around Delaware with flashing lights. Nothing terrible happened in that encounter, but similar impersonation encounters have been more critical.
A little over a week ago, an auto repair shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania received a surprise visitor.
The visitor, wearing an American flag-adorned baseball cap and a tactical vest with the words “Security Enforcement Agent,” announced the single word “Immigration,” implying that he was from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Several employees fled the scene, but the cashier did not and was immediately zip-tied.
So what happened next?
The so-called ICE agent took $1,000 and was gone 30 seconds later.
As I write this, details of an incident in Minnesota are unfolding.
Vance Boelter is alleged to have shot Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home, then shot and killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband.
In both cases Boelter presented himself as a police officer.
In terms of an encounter from a local law enforcement agency, Colorado State University has provided some tips on verifying the identity of police. While the tips are specifically written for people driving in a car, they can be generalized for cases in which the police officer shows up at a residence or business.
“[C]all 911 from your cell phone. Tell the 911 dispatcher that you are concerned that someone…may not be a police officer.”
Of course a person in a car is generally safer than a person at the front door of a home or business, but in any case you can call 911 and ask for confirmation.
“Do not flee.”
This appears to be sound advice if the person is a real police officer. But if the employees hadn’t fled from the fake ICE officer in Philadelphia, perhaps they would have been robbed also.
“If the dispatcher cannot confirm that you are being [visited] by a police officer, stay on the line with the dispatcher, and ask for police assistance.”
Wise to get the real cops on the scene.
“Do not provide personal documents – driver’s license, insurance information or other documents – to someone who you suspect of being a police impersonator.”
No need to add identity fraud on top of everything else.
Unfortunately, telling true ICE agents from fake ones is a little more difficult. Your local 911 dispatcher isn’t going to know if that’s a real ICE agent at your door.
5NBCDFW published some tips for those who receive an email, call, or visit from ICE. In regards to personal visits, the station offered this advice:
“ICE agents carry official badges and credentials. They may have identification cards with their name, photo and the department logo. You can ask them to show you their badge or ID.”
The American Civil Liberties Union reminds us that the ICE agent can show their identification (or a warrant signed by a judge) through a window or peephole before you open the door. And according to Motion Law:
“If they refuse to show their identification, you are under no obligation to open the door.”
This of course is not foolproof, since anyone can print a fake business card (perhaps on their own printer, avoiding a commercial business such as the UPS Store), create a fake ID, or create a fake badge.
And how can you tell whether that ID is real? Remember that in the Leonardo Garcia Venegas episode, ICE agents themselves couldn’t identify an authentic REAL ID.
It’s a challenging identity problem. Especially since police officers may NOT be required to identify themselves. Uniformed officers are required to identify themselves in California (California Penal Code Section 830.10), but plainclothes officers obviously don’t wear badges, and California identification laws don’t apply in other states.
“Hey,” someone suggests. “Why not create a database of all the police officers and ICE agents so that can immediately prove their authenticity?” Unfortunately, that runs into a huge privacy problem, because what happens when (not if) that database is hacked? Or if the data is intentionally leaked?
(And before you say “not my problem, those people need to be in a database,” what if it WAS your problem? In my case, what if all marketing/writing sole proprietors were required to be in a database managed by the Department of Commerce? You’d be worried if it affected YOU.)
The only way that this will change universally is when the police officers, ICE, and other agencies have to deal with impersonators. For example, if fake ICE agents cause problems for the real ones, then ICE itself will insist on positive identification of real ICE agents.
(Imagen 4)
If you are a jobseeker on LinkedIn, you have probably seen people claim to be recruiters from well-known companies, when in truth they are nothing of the kind.
Faking your employer has existed for a long time. Just ask the Delaware State Police, who for some reason isn’t keen on people who impersonate police officers.
“[A] 23-year-old man from Laurel, Delaware…reported that he had been driving eastbound on Nine Foot Road, east of Laurel Road, when a white Dodge Magnum with Arizona registration pulled behind him and activated flashing red and blue lights. As the victim began to pull over, the Dodge passed him and continued driving.”
Because Arizona police officers patrol Delaware all the time.
The 23 year old was rightfully concerned, called 911, reported the incident, and described the vehicle. But that wasn’t the end of it.
“Shortly after, the driver of the Dodge pulled up next to the victim and verbally confronted him. The victim did not engage, and the suspect eventually fled the scene.”
After an investigation, the Delaware State Police arrested Blayden Rose of Selbyville, Delaware, for impersonating a police officer.
Rose may or may not be a handyman, and his connection to Arizona is unknown. But at least in Delaware, flashing lights are generally prohibited on non-emergency vehicles.
Not sure if Rose can get off on a technicality (“I wasn’t claiming to be a cop, I was just doing a strobe show”), but it reminds us that we have to trust, but verify.
In a February 2024 discussion of the differences and similarities between personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI), I published an exhaustive list of types of PII, some of which are also PHI.
Looks complete to you, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. To, um, identify the missing bit of information that is both PII and PHI, take a look at this LinkedIn post from Jack Appleby. (Thanks to packaging expert Mark Wilson for bringing this post to my attention.)
“A dream brand just sent me a gift package & invite… but they broke the two most important rules of influencer gifting…
“The package was a ridiculously cool collab hoodie + an invite to an event I’ve wanted to go to since I was just a little kid… but the hoodie is a medium… and I’m an XL… and my name was spelled wrong on the invitation.”
And no, I’m not talking about Jack Appleby’s name.
I’M TALKING ABOUT HIS HOODIE SIZE.
And yes, hoodie size in combination with other information is both PII (personally identifiable information) and PHI (protected health information). If your hoodie size is XXL, but your height is only 5’1”…that has some health implications.
Yet at the same time it’s also vital business information. It’s collected from prospects and new employees at trade shows and during employee onboarding. And as Appleby’s example shows, there are potentially severe consequences if you get it wrong.
But does your favorite compliance framework include specific and explicit clauses addressing hoodie size? I bet it doesn’t. And that could be a huge privacy hole.
(The hoodie in my selfie is from my 2022-2023 employer. And yes I still wear it. But I got rid of my IDEMIA, MorphoTrak, Motorola, and Printrak attire.)
Bredemarket