Published Date: 26 November, 2017
Last updated on: 28 April, 2023
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of international students and academic staff misrepresenting or forging their documents in order to unrightfully attain admission to higher education or immigration status whether for studying or working abroad. This is a major concern for countries regarded as global education destinations as they attract hundreds of thousands of students and academics from around the world for both study and work every year, putting them at greater risk for applicant fraud. If gone undetected, this issue could have damaging implications.
For organizations – including educational institutions – weeding out fraudulent individuals without specialized assistance is a complex task, which is precisely where the implementation of a robust, advanced and accurate background screening process that covers identity, visa, academic, employment, professional and financial credentials becomes imperative, especially when recruiting internationally from high risk countries.
The rising trend of education fraud and fraudulent applications for study and employment is proving to be a growing problem that poses serious internal, financial, regulatory and reputational consequences for institutions and likewise to the safety of society as a whole. Given its powerful track record over the years, the DataFlow Group has been trusted by a growing number of governments and organizations to authenticate applicant documents across various industries, covering critical sectors like education and healthcare where fraudulent applications may result in more severe consequences. To give a clearer picture of the trend we have been observing, since 2007, total DataFlow Group figures for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region alone within a particular sector showed that approximately 92% cases were classified as ‘Positive’, nearly 3% were classified as ‘Negative’ and around 5% were classified as ‘Unable to Verify’.
Realizing the value of conducting rigorous background checks and screening the credentials of applicants for study or employment, organizations across different sectors are vigorously incorporating Primary Source Verification (PSV) to become a routine part of the admission and hiring processes. By doing so, not only do they safeguard their organization against countless internal and external risks associated with document forgery, but they also actively uphold the integrity and protect the admission and employment opportunities of genuine students and academic professionals across the world.
To learn more about PSV, click here!
