How to Prevent Fraud in Expert Calls: Practical Tips for Recruiters and Researchers

Part 1: How to Detect Fraud During Recruitment and Screening

The first - and most critical - line of defence is making sure only genuine experts make it onto a call. This stage is where most fraud prevention efforts should be focused.

🚩 Red Flag: Their Credentials Don’t Add Up

The expert provides details that don’t match across different sources - for example, their details don’t align across their email signature, LinkedIn profile, or professional websites.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Recruiters: Verify their professional credentials. For example, for practicing HCPs, ask for registration numbers (e.g., NPI number in the US, GMC for UK doctors) and confirm it through official sources. Look up the expert’s stated employer or institution, and confirm their name appears on staff directories, research listings, or publications. Scan for consistency between their online profiles, academic papers, and any public-facing biographies.
• Recruiters: Get proof of employment: Request an email to be sent from the expert’s professional email address, and match this to the expert’s claimed identity.

🚩 Red Flag: You Spot Suspicious Digital Footprints

Be wary when an expert's digital footprint doesn't match with their stated location. For instance, someone claiming to be in New York might raise concerns if their IP address shows they’re logging in from overseas. It's also worth checking if they provide VoIP or virtual phone numbers instead of a personal or work line. Additionally, the use of VPNs or private browsers to mask their location are red flags that the expert may be purposefully hiding their location. 

 

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Recruiters: Use geo-screening to flag anything that seems off with IPs or locations.
• Recruiters: Call the expert - a quick verification call can confirm their number is real and working.
• Recruiters: Ask for more proof. If things aren’t adding up, request extra documentation or request they go through identity verification (more on that shortly).

🚩 Red Flag: The Expert Has Implausible Expertise or Vague Screener Responses

Look out for generic, evasive, or copy-pasted answers to screening questions, as well as claims of overly broad or unrealistic expertise.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Recruiters: For calls requiring specific or niche expertise, keep the information you share about the prospective call with the expert to a minimum before the screener is completed. This prevents answers from being influenced and reduces the risk of an expert misrepresenting themselves to qualify.
• Researchers: Design screeners to include at least one or two detailed knowledge-check questions relevant to the specialty.
• Researchers: Avoid yes/no qualifying questions; instead, use multiple-choice or open-ended questions that reveal true experience.
• Researchers: Include trip-questions in your screener. For example, for a HCP recruit being asked about what drugs they have experience prescribing in a multiple choice question, include a made-up drug name as one of the answers. Anyone who checks it gets terminated. This sort of tactic can act as a tripwire for respondents who don't know their subject matter inside out.

🚩 Red Flag: You See Evasiveness or Delays in Providing ID Verification (if required)

Be cautious if the expert hesitates or refuses to share standard verification details (e.g. medical license, institutional email), provides suspicious-looking documents, or makes disproportionate excuses to avoid completing verification steps.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Recruiters: Set expectations from the start that verification is a standard and non-negotiable part of the recruitment process.
• Recruiters: Consider using a secure third-party identity verification service, like Onfido or iDenfy. Do not proceed without full verification - no exceptions.

🚩 Red Flag: The Expert Was Sourced From Risky Recruitment Channels

Experts are sourced from unvetted channels like public forums or via social media ads.

Example of solicitation on an open Reddit forum - only safe if combined with strict vetting and verification steps.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Recruiters: Prioritize recruitment through trusted networks, professional associations, and databases with strong verification processes.
• Recruiters: Where open channels are used, double down on identity checks and screening rigour.
• Recruiters: Block or quarantine individuals previously flagged for dishonesty or inconsistencies.

Part 2: How to Detect Fraud in the Interview Itself

Even with rigorous screening, it’s important to stay alert during the interview. This is often where subtle fraud indicators can surface, particularly tell-tale signs of using generative AI for interview support.

🚩 Red Flag: Unusual Speech Patterns; Hesitations, Long Pauses, and Scripted Answers

Frequent hesitations, long pauses, or slow responses can signal issues - especially if the expert sounds like they’re reading from a script, gives overly polished but vague answers, or speaks with a robotic cadence.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Researchers: Listen for unusual or highly repetitive speech patterns - this can be an indicator of someone using ‘text-to-speech’ software.
• Researchers: Train moderators to probe with spontaneous follow-ups to test depth of knowledge.
• Researchers: Ask practical or scenario-based questions that require real expertise, not textbook answers. For example, if an expert provides fluent but oddly shallow or repetitive responses, ask them to elaborate on a personal case or give an opinion. Generative tools struggle with subjectivity or first-hand nuance.
• Researchers: If concerns arise, terminate the interview.
• Researchers: Make sure your organization has a clear policy or risk strategy for handling red flags during interviews. This might include reminding the expert that using GenAI or online search tools during the call isn’t permitted, or asking them to confirm they’re not using such technology. Whatever your approach, ensure the steps are well-documented so moderators know exactly how to respond in the moment.
  
  
  Tip: Expert networks typically have a 15-minute grace period on calls. If the expert doesn’t seem to be who they claimed (e.g. they’re vague, overly rehearsed, or clearly out of their depth), you can end the call within the first 15 minutes without being charged. Don’t be afraid to cut it short - trust your instincts and flag it with your project lead so the issue can be followed up quickly.
  
  If you’re not sure, ask a technical question to sense check how they respond to it while you’re still in the grace period.
  
  

🚩 Red Flag: The Expert Gives Implausible Responses or Shows Lack of Depth

Watch for overly simplistic answers that don’t match the level of claimed expertise, or inconsistencies in their story or explanations.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Researchers: Have moderators keep detailed notes on anything that feels “off” and raise concerns immediately after the session.
• Researchers: For follow-ups, request clarification or even a second brief call to confirm expertise if needed.
• Researchers: If fraud is suspected post-interview, do not include the data and flag the individual for future exclusion.

🚩Red Flag: The Same Expert Voice Belongs To Different Experts

Be alert if an expert sounds identical to someone you’ve already spoken with - despite using a different name, background, or credentials. Similar voice, speaking style, and answers can indicate repeated impersonation.

How to Prevent & Resolve:

• Researchers: Flag suspected duplicates to your recruitment partner immediately. If possible, compare audio recordings to confirm whether it’s the same individual using different identities.
• Recruiters: Build identity verification into your onboarding process (as outlined above) to catch duplicate or fraudulent profiles before they reach the interview stage.
  
  

Part 3: If Fraud Is Confirmed: What Next?

Even with strong safeguards, fraud can still slip through. When that happens, it's essential to act quickly to protect the integrity of your research. Here's how to respond if you suspect - or confirm - fraudulent activity.

As a recruiter:

1. Remove the expert from your network or panel. Flag them as ineligible for future projects and ensure they’re excluded from any re-targeting or automated outreach.
2. Maintain a fraud log or blacklist. Keep a secure record of flagged individuals so the same person can’t be reintroduced via a different name or email.
3. Report serious cases. If impersonation or falsified credentials are involved, consider alerting the relevant professional body or reporting to law enforcement.
4. Be transparent. If you have unearthed a compromised interview, clarify what happened, how, and share your resolution steps.

As a researcher:

1. Ask how fraud is being prevented. Proactively check with your expert network about the systems they have in place to safeguard against fraud. This could include identity checks, credential verification, and red flag protocols.
2. Don’t use the insights. If an expert is later found to be fraudulent or misrepresenting their expertise, exclude their responses from any analysis or reporting.
3. Flag concerns immediately. If anything feels off during a call - whether it’s vague answers, inconsistencies, or an overly rehearsed delivery - flag it to your recruitment partner right away.

In summary

The strongest fraud prevention combines solid screening with in-interview vigilance. By building these steps into your process - and balancing them with a smooth, respectful experience - you safeguard both your research quality and your professional reputation.

Implementing anti-fraud methodologies can seem daunting, but the suggestions here have given you an idea of how you could kick off your own anti-fraud programme. No method is going to be 100% fool proof, but even by implementing the very basics of checks, you’re reducing the chance of fraud. Don’t be afraid to start small, but continue to iterate and improve.

You can find out more in the BHBIA’s guide to Preventing Fraudulent Respondents In Primary Market Research, co-authored by Maddy Clark, Techspert’s VP Strategy and Customer Experience.

FAQs

Q: What are common signs of fraud in expert calls?
A:  Before the call, look out for mismatched credentials, generic or inconsistent screener responses, delays or disproportionate excuses for providing ID. Digital red flags include using VoIP numbers, VPNs, or unusual IP locations. During the call, signs include robotic or overly polished speech, long pauses, vague answers, or a lack of subject-matter depth.

---

Q: How can I verify an expert’s identity before a call?
A: Ask for institutional email confirmation, official registration numbers (e.g. NPI, GMC), and consider using third-party tools for automated ID checks. 

---

Q: What’s the best way to design screeners that spot fraud?
A: Use open-ended or multiple-choice questions alongside yes/no. Consider including knowledge checks relevant to the topic, and add trip-questions with made-up answers to identify dishonest responses.

---

Q: Can generative AI be used to cheat during expert calls?
A: Yes. AI tools can be used to script or generate responses to questions being asked. Tell-tale signs include unnatural pauses, repetitive phrasing, or a lack of personal experiences being shared. 

---

Q: What should I do if I suspect someone is misrepresenting themselves?
A: If suspicion arises during a call, end it within the grace period and raise it with your recruitment partner. If fraud is confirmed post-interview, exclude their insights from your analysis.

---

Q: How can expert networks prevent fraud at scale?
A: By combining process with technology - automated ID verification, careful screening and thorough vetting. Techspert, for example, uses a risk-based onboarding process to detect and prevent fraudsters before interviews take place.