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Hotel owners take security seriously. There’s physical security to keep the wrong people out. And there’s digital security to protect data. Yet the easiest way to gain illegal access is to apply for a job. When even the Home Office admits that there are at least four million fake identities in use in the UK you know there’s a problem. Every time the police raid one of London’s fake ID factories, another one seems to open up.
A ‘factory’ in Finsbury Park, was shut down by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of an investigation into Albanian-led crime cells. Prices for forged documents started at just £50. And over in East Finchley, a forgery factory was discovered making thousands of counterfeit passports and driving licences for people seeking new identities.
The NCA’s probe has so far led to 15 convictions – the tip of the iceberg perhaps?
“Their clients included criminals and people in the UK illegally,” said the NCA, who seized more than 300 fake passports, 200 counterfeit national identity cards, and more than 8,000 images and templates for driving licences and passports including fake qualifications.
Yet the hotel industry depends upon a global labour market, with ‘just-in-time’ hires and more people than ever taking more than one job or working part-time. Compliance and fraud are key issues for hotel owners and the number of civil penalty prosecutions against employers for hiring illegal workers is up 50%. Bad hires can cripple already-struggling hotels.
But how can you know if a candidate is who they say they are? Are they even hiding a criminal record? A traditional ‘non-digital’ criminal record check, for example, can take several weeks to be returned and it’s understandable that some hotels still ‘take a chance’ and hope their luck holds out just a little longer.
Hoteliers need to be aware of the risks they face as an employer, and research the solutions.
Onfido.com is a digital background-checking service. This feature first appeared in the February 2015 issue of Hotel Owner.
