HR functions are prime targets for fraud. Understanding what this fraud looks like is essential to safeguarding employees from harm and maintaining trust and fairness. As an HR professional, you play a critical role in protecting the integrity of the APS – from recruitment and selection, employee data, entitlements, benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation claims.
While fraud schemes vary in their complexity and creativity, we know from fraud intelligence and investigations that fraudsters most often return to common, tried-and-tested methods. It can help to ‘think like a fraudster’ – be creative but methodical in identifying how your agency processes might be susceptible to fraudulent behaviour.
Meet the fraudsters
How can we anticipate how a fraudster might target our agencies?
One innovation developed by the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre are their 8 Fraudster Personas – a practical tool to help you understand the common methods fraudsters use, helping you anticipate and counter these behaviours.
For example:
- The Fabricator might submit false medical certificates to claim sick leave or workers’ compensation.
- The Impersonator could pose as a legitimate candidate using stolen identity documents.
- The Exploiter may take advantage of weak controls in overtime or timesheet approvals.
Here are practical ways HR professionals can apply Fraudster Personas to safeguard their agency from fraud:
- Recruitment integrity
Use Personas to identify vulnerabilities in recruitment processes, such as false qualifications or identity fraud. Incorporate checks like qualification verification and identity validation early in the process.
- Timesheet and entitlement controls
Map HR workflows against Personas to spot where fraudsters might exploit gaps, for example, unauthorised overtime claims or inflated hours. This can help strengthen approval processes and audit trails.
- Leave and compensation claims
Fraudster Personas can help HR staff recognise patterns of deception, such as fabricated medical evidence or coercion in influencing managers to approve questionable claims.
- Awareness and training
Incorporate Personas into HR fraud awareness campaigns and training sessions. This helps staff understand what fraudulent behaviour looks like and what to report.
- Policy and process design
Embed Personas into policy development to build fraud resilience from the outset. Using Fraudster Personas alongside other tools, such as business process mapping and customer journeys, can help you proactively identify how staff, contractors, job applicants or other third parties might exploit a process through fraudulent means.
- Data analytics for HR fraud
Use Personas to define data requirements for detecting anomalies in HR systems, such as duplicate identities in recruitment or unusual patterns in leave usage.
Fraud prevention in HR isn’t just about compliance. Applying a practical tool like the Fraudster Personas can strengthen integrity across all people-related processes.
Learn more about Fraudster Personas and other resources at www.counterfraud.gov.au .