In 2026, the challenge for recruiters is no longer only to find the right candidate, but also to make sure that the candidate actually exists. Over the past year, the number of CVs sent via LinkedIn alone increased by 45%, while recruiters are increasingly facing fake applications. One dangerous practice is substitution, where one person passes the job interview, but another person, often without the required skills, shows up for work. Experts point out that in the era of remote work and generative AI, analysing a CV or holding a conversation with a recruiter is no longer sufficient to verify candidates.
The situation is commented on by Karol Kapuściński, Chief Revenue Officer at No Fluff Jobs, Poland’s largest job portal with mandatory salary ranges in job advertisements.
In 2026, Poland’s unemployment rate exceeded 6% for the first time in almost five years and is gradually rising, according to data from Statistics Poland. The time needed to find a new job has also recently increased significantly. Depending on the report, it now takes on average from 4.5 to as much as 8.6 months. The number of job applications is also growing. Last year, 45% more CVs were submitted globally via LinkedIn alone than the year before, averaging 11,000 applications per minute.
Unfortunately, apart from candidates genuinely looking for employment, applications are also regularly submitted by people not actually interested in working, as well as by bots, and the scale of this phenomenon is systematically increasing. According to available data, as many as 76% of recruiters regularly encounter false information in CVs, while almost half, 45%, have directly dealt with candidate identity theft. More than 60% are concerned about the inflow not only of “embellished” applications, but also documents generated by AI and deepfakes used during video interviews.
This is a serious problem. At a time when recruiters are receiving more messages from candidates, their inboxes are additionally filled with fake applications, lengthening recruitment processes and increasing the risk of errors or security breaches.
Fake CVs Are a Security Threat to the Entire Company
Such fraud can be committed for various purposes.
One risk is the theft of intellectual property and data. It happens that someone takes a job only to gain access to code repositories, customer databases, know-how or other company technologies. Such individuals may cause leaks of strategic information or data with high business value.
Another threat is substitution. The recruitment process is completed by a candidate who performs well and has the right experience, but the contract is signed and the job is started by a different person, often lacking the required qualifications. In remote work, such a situation may remain unnoticed for a long time.
There is also the risk of extorting equipment and salary. A company may hire a person who in practice does not exist or who never intends to perform the work. This leads to direct financial losses, such as paid salary or company equipment handed over to the person. A considerable amount of time may pass before the employer realises that no real work results are being delivered.
Fake applications are therefore not only a problem for HR departments, but may pose a real threat to the security and finances of an organisation. At No Fluff Jobs, we help recruiters find real candidates who are well matched to the role by offering the possibility of verifying applications. The CV Scoring tool automatically analyses candidate submissions and indicates which ones best match the requirements.
A more in-depth verification can then be carried out by our virtual assistant Alicja, created on the basis of a proven OpenAI model. Based on the recruiter’s decision, Alicja conducts an initial interview with the candidate. She asks about all relevant details and checks skills, for example language skills, or asks a series of probing questions. Importantly, she does not go beyond the scope of a screening interview and focuses on her task. The whole conversation also does not require the recruiter’s time to schedule meetings, because it is up to the candidate to decide when to complete it. After the interview, Alicja provides the recruiter with a summary, together with a transcript and audio recording.
In the era of AI-generated CVs and potential deepfakes, it is becoming crucial to quickly confirm the consistency of candidates’ experience, communication style and competencies. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to conduct a more in-depth interview, saves recruiters’ time and improves the security of the recruitment process. It is objective, does not get tired or distracted, and does not make decisions in a rush between consecutive meetings. With this expanded set of information, recruiters can fully analyse applications and be confident that they are speaking to real people.
