External Workforce Triage for Combating Candidate Fraud and Deepfakes

North Korean nationals are running one of the biggest scams, shipping computers to U.S.-based laptop farms, hiding locations through VPNs, and even using deepfake technology during video interactions. According to the United Nations, fraudulent candidates have funneled $250 to $600 million annually since 2018 to the North Korean government.  

As AI and deepfake technology grow in sophistication, proactive external workforce management utilizing appropriately trained teams and systems are an essential component of protecting yourself against candidate fraud, ensuring compliance, reducing costs, and optimizing your talent strategy. 

External Workforce Management & Triage – What It Is, Why It Matters 

Proactive external workforce management and triage is the process of determining the right sourcing channel for talent depending on desired outcomes and user requirements. A dedicated triage function will help you reduce the risk of fraud, ensure compliance, manage costs, and identify the right supplier for each need. You’ll benefit from reduced misclassification, a guided user experience with optimized buying recommendations, full visibility into your non-FTE workforce, and greater access to your supply chain and partners.  

At a high level, here’s how it works. Whenever a client engagement manager has a request, they work with the program management team within the scope of its managed service provider (MSP) solution. The program management team understands the precise questions to ask to determine the best channel to help deliver the desired outcome (whether that be via the contingent workforce, a statement of work (SOW), an FTE or an alternative approach). Depending on the path chosen, they can then determine which suppliers are most appropriate to consider for each request.  

The Importance of the Right Governance Structure 

An essential element of effective external workforce triage is a diverse governance team that includes senior leaders from across the enterprise. Too often, people operate in silos where IT, security, procurement, and business stakeholders work independently, creating information gaps that leave your organization at risk. 

A solution to this is an internal steering committee that includes cross-functional representation: CIOs and CTOs who understand emerging technology threats, CHROs who understand talent demands, CPOs who optimize supplier purchases and relationships, and Engagement Managers who are utilizing external services/workers and MSP partners who have deep workforce management expertise.  

Organizations with cross-functional steering committees eliminate risk – compliance or otherwise – resulting from a lack of communication across teams. For example, IT could be monitoring a risk that isn’t shared with procurement leadership who own that program. The MSP partner might not consider it an issue because their primary stakeholder isn’t concerned. Unfortunately, such small incidents can escalate into major breaches.  

In the Event of Candidate Fraud  

If candidate fraud occurs, the first step is educating the business on what happened, why it happened, and how it can be avoided in the future. Next, work with your external workforce providers to understand how a fraudulent candidate infiltrated their system. Focus on how suppliers authenticate candidates and maintain security and compliance during sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding. 

The final step is to educate the stakeholder group via the steering committee. This includes explaining how a fraudulent candidate made it through the supplier to the employer; how the situation was remediated; and recommendations for preventing future threats. That could include AI assessment tools, revised supplier guidelines, additional legal and IT compliance measures, and more comprehensive audit trails with your vendor management system (VMS).  

Once these measures are in place, you’ll want to conduct a quarterly analysis to see how often your organization was subjected to risk so you can further identify and address gaps.  

MSP Mandates Ensure Compliance and Reduce Risk 

A mandated MSP centralizes oversight of all 1099 and contingent workers, eliminating risks that arise when hiring managers bypass formal processes. Without a mandate, organizations are more exposed to misclassification, inadequate background checks, inconsistent onboarding, and security vulnerabilities. AI-driven fraud and deepfakes are only making these issues more widespread.