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A video interview or identity-document check cannot prove that the applicant, interviewee, new hire, device recipient and person doing the work are all the same person. Reduce that risk by linking identity evidence to a live person, repeating proportionate checks at hiring, onboarding and during employment, and tying device and account access to the verified employee. No single check guarantees identity.
What can “fake employee” mean?
The phrase covers different tactics, and a safeguard that catches one may not catch another. Threat advisories from the FBI and FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) describe use of stolen personal information, synthetic or altered identity evidence, deepfake video or voice spoofing, interview substitution, local facilitators who receive company equipment, and a different person doing the job after someone else passes screening.
The FBI’s July 2025 advisory describes North Korean IT-worker schemes in which U.S.-based individuals may provide a device-delivery location or help circumvent controls. It also warns that the person hired may not be the person completing the work. That is a specific threat advisory, not evidence that any particular applicant—or foreign applicants generally—are fraudulent.
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How do I verify a remote employee’s identity?
Build a documented process that connects a claimed identity to the person who applies, completes onboarding and performs the work. The FBI recommends verification at hiring, onboarding and throughout employment. NIST’s SP 800-63A-4 offers technical identity-proofing guidance, but it is not an employment-specific law for every private employer.
1. Set a risk-based process before opening the interview
Decide which roles, information and systems warrant stronger checks, who will perform them, what evidence is acceptable, how results will be recorded, and how applicants can resolve technical problems or unclear results. NIST describes identity proofing as establishing the link between a claimed identity and the real-life person engaged in proofing. Its framework includes collecting and validating evidence, checking identity attributes against authoritative or credible sources, and linking the evidence to the person.
Choose methods in proportion to the risk. Possible steps include confirming a code, authenticating an account, or comparing a live facial sample with validated evidence. Keep access limited to what the role needs while identity checks are in progress.
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2. Use an attended live interaction, not just a submitted image
Have a trained reviewer observe the person during the relevant proofing steps and compare them with the identity evidence under your documented process. In NIST’s remote-attended proofing guidance, the applicant remains in view through each step and the video must be clear enough for inspection and comparison. These are controls described in a digital-identity standard, not universal hiring requirements.
A reviewer can use a simple, unpredictable cue—such as asking the applicant to move a hand in front of their face or move an object between the camera and face—to add a human-in-the-loop signal. The FBI’s 2025 advisory and NIST both describe such cues. They can expose some manipulated video, but passing a cue does not establish identity on its own.
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3. Treat video and biometric matches as evidence, not proof
NIST warns that remote proofing can be vulnerable to manipulated or injected media. A biometric comparison against a captured sample does not, by itself, stop those attacks. Reviewers should be trained to notice possible manipulation indicators such as excessive latency, synchronization problems, inconsistent skin tone or resolution. None of these indicators alone establishes fraud.
Automated analysis can produce false positives and false negatives. Use human review and a consistent escalation route rather than treating a face match, deepfake detector or one failed check as conclusive. Protect evidence and personal information with appropriate data-handling controls, and decide in advance what the organization needs to retain.
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Ask role-specific questions that let the applicant explain relevant work history and their stated work location. The FBI has identified inability to answer questions about location or past details and unusual background noise as warning signs in the specific scheme it describes. They are prompts for further, fair review—not standalone evidence of deception. Use the same job-related standards across applicants and avoid treating accent, nationality, a noisy connection or an address change as proof of wrongdoing.
5. Provide a fallback when a tool or connection fails
Set a route for unclear scans, poor video, accessibility needs or technical failure. NIST discusses exception handling and performance monitoring for fraud checks. A failed tool should trigger the documented alternative review, not an automatic rejection. Apply the same process consistently and give the applicant a way to clarify or appeal an adverse result.
How can a fake employee pass a video interview?
A convincing call may involve a manipulated or injected video or audio stream, or a real person who is not the person who later performs the work. A call can show that someone participated; it does not by itself prove that their identity evidence is genuine or that they will be the continuing worker.
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Reduce that gap by linking a live, attended proofing session to validated identity evidence, using trained human review, and repeating appropriate checks at onboarding. Keep interview notes focused on role-related answers and identity-check outcomes. If the evidence, video quality or answers raise a concern, pause access and use the same documented escalation and fallback process used for other applicants.
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What should happen during onboarding and equipment delivery?
Reconfirm the person before granting access
At onboarding, use a secure interaction to confirm that the person completing the steps is the person selected and matched to the organization’s identity record. This is a practical way to address the FBI’s warnings about interview substitution and its recommendation to verify identity across the employment lifecycle.
Connect device issuance to the employee record
Before shipping a laptop or other company equipment, confirm the delivery details through a trusted channel. The FBI specifically flags a change in the stated address after hiring but before device delivery. Record the change and route it through a documented verification step; an address change is a reason to verify, not evidence of fraud by itself.
Link device issuance and account provisioning to the organization’s identity process. Grant only the access required for the role, and have a response plan for unusual network activity, unexpected remote connections or prohibited remote-access software. The FBI recommends monitoring unusual network traffic and looking for prohibited remote desktop protocols or software.
Review staffing-firm controls
If a staffing firm participates in hiring, assess its identity and hiring practices and audit them periodically. The FBI recommends robust third-party hiring practices and attention to address or payment-platform changes. Define which organization owns each check and how a concern is escalated so that responsibility does not disappear between employer and vendor.
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How should identity checks continue after hire?
Identity assurance is not a one-time onboarding task. Use proportionate, documented review when there is a material change to an employee’s address, device, work location, account access or payment arrangement. Confirm changes through an established trusted channel, and investigate access anomalies using the same neutral, job-related standards applied to other employees.
The FBI specifically recommends identity verification throughout remote employment, monitoring address changes, and attention to remote-access anomalies. The change-triggered examples above are operational applications of that advice; they are not a claim that every change indicates misconduct.
Which verification method should an employer use?
Methods address different risks. A document can support an identity claim, a live session can connect a person to evidence, and account or network controls can help monitor later access. None alone reliably answers every question: whether the evidence is valid, whether the person presenting it is the applicant, and whether that same person is doing the work.
| Method | What it can contribute | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Attended live proofing with validated evidence | A trained reviewer can observe proofing and compare the live person with validated evidence. | Manipulated or injected media can affect remote sessions; reviewer training, video quality and fallback procedures matter. NIST SP 800-63A-4 discusses these risks. |
| Unattended or automated remote check | Can support evidence collection or automated comparison, depending on the process. | A captured-sample biometric match alone does not prevent media injection; automated analysis can have false positives and false negatives. NIST SP 800-63A-4. |
| Physical Form I-9 document examination | Can meet the prescribed document examination method for employment eligibility when performed under current USCIS instructions. | Form I-9 is not a comprehensive check that the person interviewed is the person performing the work. U.S.-specific procedures apply. |
| DHS-authorized alternative Form I-9 procedure | May allow an eligible employer to use an authorized alternative procedure under its defined conditions. | It is not permission to accept any emailed image or substitute any commercial identity platform for the prescribed process. Confirm current eligibility and procedure details with USCIS. |
When selecting a method, consider whether it is attended, whether evidence is checked against authoritative or credible sources, how the live person is linked to the evidence, resilience to presentation or injection attacks, human review and fallback, privacy and retention, and operational burden. NIST lays out remote/on-site and attended/unattended proofing categories and discusses controls and exception handling.
What do Form I-9 and E-Verify establish in the United States?
Form I-9 is the U.S. employment eligibility verification process, not a general-purpose test that proves the selected interviewee is the sole person behind a work account. USCIS materials say the employee must complete Section 1 no later than the first day of employment, and the employer or its authorized representative must complete Section 2 within three business days after that first day, following the acceptable-document and examination rules.
USCIS instructions provide for physical document examination or examination under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure. The 2023 DHS rule established an optional alternative procedure with defined conditions; it does not create an open-ended option to accept an emailed document image or replace the prescribed examination with any identity platform. Procedures and eligibility can change, so verify current USCIS requirements and consult qualified counsel before implementation.
Employees choose which acceptable documents to present. Employers must not specify which documents an employee presents or treat employees differently because of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Use E-Verify only according to its applicable rules. If there is a mismatch or system error, follow the required resolution process; do not treat the error as proof of fraud. The FBI suggests verifying remote workers’ information through E-Verify and seeking reliable follow-up when errors arise, but that does not override the applicable procedure.
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