The document provides an editorial on efforts by police in India to curb fake education certificates and an update on related cases. It also summarizes international news on securities fraud charges against a CEO in Alabama. The remainder of the document discusses topics related to background screening trends, best practices, case studies on exit interviews and leadership hiring, and new products and services from a screening company.

1. Newsletter VIII Issue 7 / 2013
Editorial
Competition is fierce at the job market. It has given birth to a well-functioning
machinery that has made fake education certificates widely accessible.
Fortunately, police are actively working towards bringing this ‘machinery’ down.
Recently, UP police busted a fake education board which duped a large number
of students by providing them with fake marksheets and certificates. In a
separate case, government teachers in Hyderabad who had secured jobs by
furnishing fake educational certificates are facing legal action.
Other than making efforts to curb fake certificate racket, police in various cities,
including Gurgaon, are also reminding households to register the details of
domestic help, drivers and tenants. Ahmedabad Police have off late extended
their tenant verification drive even to rural, or ‘dehat’, areas to maximize the
awareness.
SEBI, for the first time ever, is planning to release guidelines in order to stress
upon making disclosures by companies related to fraud and litigation against
senior executives.
Internationally, CEO and substantial owner of Hamilton-based National Steel
Car has been charged with 10 counts of securities fraud in Alabama for
defrauding a pension fund over a deal to build a new manufacturing plant in the
state.
Contents
 News
 Legal Update
 A Point to Ponder
 Best Practices in Screening
 Case Studies
 Screening Trends
 Products and Services
Comparison between discrepancy trends in reference check for last three fiscals
has been done to come up with top five contributing reasons. And, cases of an
insurance company using exit interview process and of a company making
leadership hiring have been looked into. Best screening practices pertaining to
middle management hiring has also been discussed in detail.
News
Stirrings within the Nation
UP Police Busts Fake Education Board
Uttar Pradesh police busted a fake education board that was operating in the name of 'Madhyamik Siksha Parishad Madhya
Pradesh Gwalior'. About 15 people of the gang were arrested for allegedly duping lakhs of students in 22 states. More than
2,500 fake marksheets were also recovered from them.
As per the police, the gang duped a large number of students by providing them with fake marksheets and certificates. The
board's office was in Gwalior and was run from Kasganj.
Ahmedabad Police Extends Tenant Verification Campaigns
The recent incident of three hardened chain snatchers in Ahmedabad turning out to be living out of rented accommodation, the
city police has once again appealed the landlords to visit the concerned police station and verify credentials of tenants before
letting out the accommodation.

2. Cops have decided to include dehat areas in this drive, apart from the urban areas. Some of the areas being included in the
campaign are Shahganj, Khuldabad, Kareli, Dhoomanganj, Civil Lines, Cantt, Mutthiganj and Kydganj.
SP, crime, AK Pandey said, "We have been constantly appealing to landlords to go for verification of the tenants. In
metropolitan cities, majority of landlords approach concerned police stations for verification and a similar practice is required in
KAVAL towns. Verifying credentials is a basic concept of policing and the landlords must be sensitive towards it.".
2,000 Government Teachers Charged for Furnishing Fake Certificates
As directed by the Hyderabad government, district education officers are filing criminal cases against about 2,000 government
teachers who had secured promotions by submitting fake educational certificates. Action is also being taken against another
200 teachers who had claimed medical reimbursement by submitting fake bills in 2010.
The order was issued by the Commissionerate and Directorate of School Education to the DEOs which was further followed by
Upa Lokayukta. The former DEOs promoted hundreds of teachers in Warangal, Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar, and
Srikakulam in violation of all 42 points in a checklist circulated by department of school education.
The teachers had submitted fake certificates of MA (English) and B.Ed. courses which were attained from various private and
deemed universities in other states in order to be promoted from secondary grade teachers to school assistants. Promotion
opportunities of several genuine teachers were deeply hampered with this act, forcing them to approach Lokayukta.
In another case, about 200 teachers had defrauded Rs. 2 crore by submitting fake medical bills in Adilabad, Mahbubnagar,
Khammam, and Ranga Reddy.
Global Ripples
NSR's CEO Charged with Securities Fraud
Gregory Aziz, the chief executive officer (CEO) and a substantial owner of Hamilton-based National Steel Car, has been
charged with 10 counts of securities fraud in Alabama. Mr. Aziz allegedly defrauded a local pension fund over a deal to build a
new manufacturing plant in the state.
Mr. Aziz has been accused of fudging statements and underestimating costs while soliciting a loan from Retirement Systems of
Alabama (RSA) in the year 2007. Initially valued at $195 million, the plant's building cost increased to more than $700 million
by the end of 2008, which was later adjusted to the pension fund's loan commitment to $625 million in exchange for an
ownership stake in the project.
Gregory Aziz and Warren Aziz, Mr. Aziz's brother who was hired as project manager, both deceived the RSA throughout the
project term. However, in 2009, RSA began to learn about misrepresentation and took measures to resume control over the
entire project.

3. Legal Updates
SEBI to Release Guidelines for Additional Disclosures by Companies
First time ever, SEBI, India's capital market regulator, is planning to release guidelines in order to stress upon making
disclosures by companies related to fraud and litigation against senior executives. As per the tentative guidelines, companies
will have to make public any fraud committed by directors, senior executives and employees, and litigation against them and the
impact on financials. Details about loan agreements and the estimates of losses caused by natural calamities also need to be
disclosed by companies.
The move is part of SEBI's ongoing effort to strengthen investor protection and bring the norms in line with the best practices.
The rationale behind making such disclosures mandatory is that frauds and defaults by persons related to the company can
have a tangible impact on its operations, particularly in the cases where the guilty person has significant control or influence in
decision making.
A Point to Ponder
Should Companies Handle the Issue of Fake Certificates On Priority?
"The moment I looked at the certificate, I knew it was fake. The signature of the then registrar (evaluation) looked doubtful. I've
been with the varsity for 30 years and know what the signatures of ex-registrars look like. Moreover, the certificate read
'University of Bangalore' at the top, though it's Bangalore University," says RK Somashekar, registrar (evaluation).
- The Times of India (September)
University pro-vice-chancellor N Veeramanikandan of Kerala University said, "I've just completed a month in my post. During
this brief period, I have come across at least six or seven cases of fake certificates."
- The Times of India (October)
Degrees and certificates are available on sale. Open advertisements are posted on mediums which claim to provide degree
certificates and marksheets from any varsity in no time.
Economic slowdown has hit the job market hard and it's becoming even harder to land the dream jobs. The wide and easy
availability of forged certificates indicates towards an underground yet well-oiled machinery which is effectively catering to the
rising desperation among the unemployed for to cash in on the leeway.
Are universities aware of the issue? Is anything being done about it?
“...At present, it takes around two years to deliver the degree certificate. Even verification takes more than a month. We hope
the digital degree will address these problems as well as solve security issues," said Satish Kumar, OSD, exam branch, Delhi
University, in connection with the handing out of digital certificates for the first time in 2014.
If such measures become a common trend among varsities, will that suffice the companies' need to cross-check
education details?
Will your company lay lesser stress on education verification in the wake of such measures?

4. Screening Trends
A comparison between the discrepancy trends in reference check for the years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 reveals the top 5
contributing reasons. No response from the referee has been the prime reason for discrepancy for 2010-11 and 2011-12, but its
contribution declined greatly during 2012-13. On the other hand, from a mere 3.2% in 2010-11, contribution of contradictory
information has risen to 43.5% in 2012-13, making it the highest contributor to discrepancies. The other pertinent contributing
reasons across three years were incorrect/unconfirmed referee, referee's refusal to verify, and negative feedback/performance
issue. This and many more insights have been shared in our upcoming Annual Trend Report.
Best Practices in Screening
Which is the best address to verify?
Before you decide which address to verify, let us understand why address verification is important. One it helps you reconfirm
accessibility. Second and more importantly, it helps you validate that no criminal record exists in the candidates’ name at the
police station of that locality.
Keeping these points in mind let us first categorise and define the addresses as
• Permanent Address: This would be the address where the candidate has either resided since birth OR address of a selfowned property [or owned by parents, in-laws, spouse] OR address where parents reside currently.
• Current Address: Address where candidate presently stays and has been staying for more than 3 / 6 months.
• Previous Addresses: All addresses other than Current and Permanent where the candidate would have resided.

5. What should help you decide which addresses to verify?
Verify permanent address if your hires are largely migrant/transitory and ensure criminal records are also verified at that
address using any route [either media, databases or police records]
Verify current address to ensure candidate actually resides at the address stated so that in the event of any unpleasant or
untoward incident you are able to reach the candidate and are not in for a rude shock.
Verify previous addresses if your candidate holds a sensitive role or is in a role of global significance or involves travel. This
address is more for criminal record verification and reputation and not for accessibility.
Which address should be verified at which level?
For entry-level, if accessibility is critical then current address is better to be verified. Verifying the address at home town may not
be of much significance. Where criminality check is of higher significance then permanent address is better followed by previous
addresses.
For middle & senior levels, it is best to verify both permanent and current addresses. Criminality check should be done for both
addresses too. If the individual has had multiple previous addresses of short durations, it would be prudent to verify those too to
negate possibility of frequent shifting due to unpleasantness or criminality.
Note: Point to be noted is address verification by itself is of limited value unless validated with a ‘no criminal record’ from the
local police as the primary objective of verification is to weed criminality.
Case Studies
Can Exit Interviews Effectively Arrest Attrition?
A leading player in insurance was grappling with high attrition rate amidst fierce industry competition. In a bid to arrest the
attrition, the HR Head went ahead with conducting in-house exit interviews of ex-employees. This solution was considered a
good one, considering it would provide insights as to why the organisation is losing its talent.
A comprehensive project plan was drafted and was executed meticulously under strict supervision. However, it failed to meet its
objective. The exit interview reports suggested - satisfaction levels were high, there was no set pattern to the exits, employees
had left the organisation for general reasons such as ill health, relocation, etc.
The HR head was surprised that no meaningful insights came out. This was strange considering the high levels of attrition. The
HR Head finally decided to go ahead with outsourcing exit interviews as a pilot for next 2 quarters not sure whether exited
employees would share their true reasons for exits. Outsourcing resulted in an exit Interview process that became more
structured, timely and actionable, and a more engaging way to understand real and unbiased reasons for employee churn-over.
To his surprise, the results from these exit interviews were completely different and far more meaningful.
In almost 45% of the cases, the top reasons for exit confirmed by ex-employees during internal Exit Interviews process were
found different from the reason revealed by them during an independent process run by the company. The Ex-Employees also
gave meaningful suggestions like a centralized customer fund management system, frequent Skype meetings with branch
manager, better variable structure, etc.
Fuel Marketing Organisation Assisted by AuthBridge to Make informed Hiring
A leading international fuel marketing organisation was looking to hire a competent Business Leader. Considering the role is a
high impact decision making role and would involve access to confidential information, the hiring organisation decided to verify
the candidate's background though the candidate looked very promising and there wasn’t an iota of doubt.

6. The Background verification of Leadership hire was handled by AuthBridge. AuthBridge was provided with candidate's resume,
passport details and a signed background verification form.
As a BGV case of a Leadership Hire, AuthBridge initiated an extensive Background Verification process. As part of the process,
AuthBridge started mapping the ecosystem around the subject candidate in every organisation that he had worked with in the
last 10 years – his superiors, sub-ordinates, peers, vendors, clients and partners.
In course of this research and interviews AuthBridge mapped and cross-verified every city the subject had stayed in,
organisation that he had worked with and much more. The background verification went on till the experienced team of analysts
was reasonably confident that most critical aspects are adequately researched.
The interim AuthLead™ report that came out revealed that the subject had overstated and fudged the employment details. On
receiving the interim report, the client organisation shared a different resume’. Still, the gaps in employment remained as flags.
The submission of a fresh resume was also a flag. In course of this research and interviews it was also discovered that the
individual‘s style of working were ‘authoritarian’ and had an ‘attitude of superiority’.
The extensive research and structured interviews with references as provided by the subject, brought to fore the mention of
employments which were not stated by the incumbent. Delving into the details further revealed that his employment was more
contractual in nature and project-based, a major point not shared with the hiring organisation. AuthBridge, in its AuthLead™
report, raised these flags and brought these to light.
Products and Services
AuthNumber®
Organisations across industries and geographies need to respond to the employee verification requests as a result of which
companies become susceptible to the risks of losing track of responses they have sent out. An internal collusion can result in
potential security threat to a large extent.
AuthNumber®, a highly secure database management application by AuthBridge, helps employers manage responses to
external verification requests in a manner which ensures a controlled and appropriate access to information. AuthNumber®
integrates with the client's HRMS or external verification applications seamlessly which facilitates the efficient management of
verification response processing. The application makes sure that the HR professionals are able to allocate their valuable time
on activities which are more important.
AuthLead™
Handling of highly sensitive and critical information, wielding the authority to take strategic decisions, sitting at a vantage point
with a clear bird's eye view of the processes, all these come as part and parcel of being at the top of the hierarchical ladder. An
extensive background check to bring in the right leader is, hence, the need of the hour. AuthLead™, brought to you by
AuthBridge, is a detailed Due Diligence on the prospective candidate with extreme attention to research and analysis based on
market intelligence. Mapping the prospective leader's ecosystem in every organisation and cross-verifying details is one of the
most basic steps in the process. AuthLead™ also helps ensure that the leaders come out clean if they are subjected to FCPA,
UK Bribery Act, Indian Prevention of Money Laundering Act etc. related due diligence at any later stage.
The verification and Due Diligence process during AuthLead™ goes on till an experienced team of analysts is reasonably
confident that most critical aspects have been adequately researched and that there is nothing more to look for.
OPTM360
OPTM360 strives to bring changes in one of the very important aspects of organisational mechanism - managers. Being in
charge of getting the team and resources moving, managers have a critical role to play in any organisation. Therefore, the
individual filling the position needs to be someone with the skills and personality befitting the role that will keep evolving
overtime.

7. With its fast, focused and practical approach, One Page Talent Management360 is beyond a typical 360 assessment tool. This
'change' tool helps your managers bring behavioural changes by focusing on top three areas to work upon. Eliminating the
negative reactions caused by typical 360s, OPTM360 ensures that managers embrace the feedback and suggestions readily
instead of posing resistance towards it.
IndiaVerify
Background verification services by AuthBridge are already helping corporates address the employee related risks. With
IndiaVerify, AuthBridge strives to reach out to individual customers and pass on the benefits of background check to them.
A retail product from AuthBridge, IndiaVerify addresses the verification requirements of individual customers for domestic
helpers, drivers, tenants and marriage partner. Rise in the level of marital frauds and crimes committed by domestic helps,
drivers and tenants, has heightened the need of a verification service of this nature. IndiaVerify eases the process of initiating
verification for the individuals and helping them secure their personal and domestic environs.