Federal authorities recently uncovered a long-running scheme involving two New Jersey men linked to efforts that helped fund North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs. The operation involved overseas IT workers who used stolen identities of U.S. individuals to obtain remote positions with American companies.

These workers were able to pose as legitimate domestic employees while gaining access to corporate systems, including roles at major Fortune 500 companies and firms operating in sensitive industries.

According to federal authorities, U.S. based facilitators played a key role in enabling the fraud by creating fake business entities, managing shipments and hosting of company issued laptops, and setting up remote access tools designed to conceal the true location of the workers. In some cases, these arrangements allowed unauthorized individuals to gain access to internal systems and sensitive company data after onboarding.

Over time, the scheme exposed serious vulnerabilities in remote hiring practices and identity verification controls, as fraudulent workers were successfully integrated into U.S. company environments under false identities.

Stolen Identity

This case reflects a growing trend in hiring fraud where the primary risk is no longer limited to falsified resumes, but has expanded into full scale identity fraud.

Beyond concerns of exaggerated experience, employers are now experiencing threats such as:

• Stolen or entirely fabricated personal identities
• Remote work setups that avoid in person identity verification
• Ability to bypass screening or verification processes

Remote hiring significantly increases fraud risk due to the lack of face-to-face interaction, making it easier for individuals to present themselves as legitimate candidates without ever being physically verified.

Organizational Risk

The impact of fraud extends far beyond simple hiring deception. In cases like this, organizations can face significant financial losses from wages paid to fraudulent employees, as well as exposure of sensitive company data, including proprietary systems and technical information. These situations can also lead to cybersecurity breaches, particularly when unauthorized individuals are granted access to internal networks.

In addition, companies may experience operational disruption that requires costly remediation efforts and system audits. In more severe cases, especially those involving defense-related or regulated data, there can even be national security implications. Ultimately, the risk to employers is not limited to hiring the wrong individual, it can escalate into data compromise, regulatory exposure, and long-term reputational damage.

Background Screening Fraud Technologies

This case reinforces the importance of conducting thorough background screening throughout the hiring process. Even when criminal history checks, employment verification, and credential validation are completed, those measures can be compromised if the applicant’s underlying identity information is falsified or incorrect.

New background screening technology, such as biometric identity verification, adds an additional layer of protection by helping confirm that the individual applying for the role is truly who they claim to be. This is especially critical for remote positions, where candidates may never meet employers in person, making traditional verification methods more challenging.

Employer Guidance

As identity fraud becomes more prevalent in hiring, it is increasingly important for employers to strengthen key areas of their screening and hiring processes.

Identity Verification – Implementing more robust verification methods helps ensure that candidates are who they claim to be before onboarding begins.

Monitor Red Flags – Paying close attention to inconsistencies in personal information, unusual access patterns, or discrepancies in location can help identify potential warning signs.

Continuous Monitoring – Post hire monitoring or periodic re-verification, especially in sensitive roles, can help detect and prevent risks that may emerge after employment has started.

Partnering with an accredited background screening provider that offers advanced protective technologies is essential to strengthening the overall screening process.

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GIS recognizes that fraud continues to evolve, which is why we are committed to continuously enhancing our solutions to help protect our clients and their organizations. If you would like to discuss your current background screening process or preventative measures, please contact us.

Marc, the president and CEO of Global Investigative Services, a PBSA-accredited background screening company, explains how his company’s extensive range of background screening services can help businesses of all sizes avoid hiring problems and make confident employee decisions. Discover what Global specializes in and how its services can benefit your company.

RANDI: Hey, thanks for joining us. I’m here with Marc, who is the president and CEO of Global Investigative Services. Good to see you, Marc. I’d really love to love to hear what is it you guys do. Tell us a little bit about your company and what you do.

MARC: Sure. Global Investigative Services specializes in conducting background checks for the purpose of pre- and post-employment, as well as tenant screening and due diligence.

We are PBS accredited background screening company and have been in business for close to 30 years. We work with multiple companies in various industries, from healthcare to technology, hospitality, education, and even government agencies. These companies can be any size from a small Mom and Pop shop to large Fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees anywhere in the world.

RANDI: Can I ask you, Marc, what are one of the problems that you’re helping them solve, like, what is it they’ve got to get done and you’re coming through for them with?

MARC: Sure. We have a knowledgeable team of investigative analysts, quality assurance, and customer care, all focusing on providing six key components accuracy, timeliness, consistency, reliability, security, and professionalism.

Plus, as your back-office staff assistant, and your human resources department, with all their background screening, needs o we help our clients hire with confidence and provide the tools to streamline the background screening process. Our innovative, secure background screening platform safeguards the security, integrity, and availability of all our personal data. All their personal data submitted to the easy-to-use interface makes the background screening process enjoyable for all our clients and their applicants, and we help our clients stay compliant with state and federal laws, which helps prevent negligent hiring that could lead to potential lawsuits.

And we help our clients educate, while we educate our clients, so they understand what a background check is and what it’s not. With close to three decades of experience, you can be assured that Global Investigative Service has exceptional knowledge of the background screening industry and understands how to navigate through the background screening process.

RANDI: That’s great. And you know, you mentioned some of the products you served out. So as a client, do you offer all that to me or can I get just get one particular product or service? How does that work?

MARC: So first, we take time to understand our client’s business and what their needs are. We use that information to develop packages of various types of searches.

These searches can be criminal searches on the local statewide roll or even national level. There are sex offender searches, civil searches, identity verification, social media, credit reports, employment or education verifications, drug testing, and occupational health. The list goes on and there’s an array of searches. We even have a monitoring program for criminal driving and social media and a special program called the Background Check Clear Program.

You would need to visit our website for more information on that. Our capabilities are not just limited to the United States. We have access to information in over 250 countries and territories. And all of these searches we offer, they’re compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCA Title seven, the DPA, and other state and federal laws.

In addition, Global’s compliant with the US Privacy Shield Principles and the GDPR.

RANDI: Well, I tell you, it sounds like, if there’s a company anywhere, no matter where your company is or what kind of investigative, you know, you look into your employees and, you know, it’s remarkable how deep you guys go and how many different things you have to think about when you’re having employee employees or such.

It’s really something. So, Marc, why don’t you tell the folks if they’re interested in learning more or get in touch with you? What’s the next step they should take right now?

MARC: Yeah, absolutely. You can go to our website at www.gispi.com or you can give us a call at 800-589-6595 or send us an email at global@gispi.com.

RANDI: That’s great. Thanks so much, Marc. Appreciate it. Thank you, Randi.