Are You the Victim of Name Clearing Fraud?

By: Wilson Cole
Date: 9/1/2007

I wanted to take a moment and share with you a disturbing trend that I am starting to see more frequently. My company has collected well over 100 million dollars and I have to admit I have seen just about every collection scenario imaginable but they are isolated. Very few times in my collection career have I seen such a systematic approach to stealing placement fees. Within the last 6 months I have seen more and more of this specific approach and that concerns me.

The approach that I am referring to looks something like this. The HR Director has to clear a name to make sure that they are not already talking to this candidate. On the surface this appears to make sense. If you present a candidate and they have sent their resume out to hundreds of companies then there is always a chance that you could present someone that is already in the process of being considered. This part is not so new but here is the twist. They ask you for 48 hours to clear the name.Within that 48 hour period they go out and see if they can find the resume on the major job boards and contact them through the job board or they pass your candidate's resume to their " Favorite Recruiter' who will present the candidate at a later time. I have had over 24 collection accounts this year that would fall under the suspicion of this scenario. Out of these 24 suspicious accounts I have been able to confirm that over half of them occurred just as I described. So ask yourself this; "Over the last 12 months have I presented a candidate that was reportedly already in the system or submitted by another recruiter?" Were they really ever in their system or is this a sign for concern?

One thing that being in the collection industry has taught me is that most people are honest and have character, even the ones who pass across my desk for collections. Most of them are good people who simply misjudged cash flow. Unfortunately about 5% of what passes through here are people that will try to beat the system every time they can.

So now that I have put a knot in your stomach, I will share with you an idea that will protect you from these really bad guys and it is very simple. Have your candidate sign a statement stating that they are unaware of any available positions within the companies that you are presenting them with. In the event that you do not get paid and you need our help collecting your account this will prove effective, but more importantly it will help you collect the outstanding balance on your own without the need to retain my company.

So remember, if your client wants to clear a name, let them know that you have a signed document from the candidate stating that they are unaware of any position within their company. When done with tact, this strategy will reduce the risk of having your candidate is stolen and protect you should it happen anyway.

Wilson Cole is the president of Adams, Even, & Ross and Co-Founder of Recruiting & Staffing Solutions Magazine. He can be contacted at 800.960.4365, or by email at wilson@aercollections.com.