The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is warning of fraudulent employee references.
Together with BBC1’s Fake Britain, the FSB cooperated on a survey of 1,800 small firms, which found that nearly one in five had discovered candidates with fraudulent references.
They also found that 71 per cent of small business owners are unaware that websites exist which provide applicants with fake references.
The FSB is encouraging businesses to be wary of potential fraud and take precautions to prevent being taken in by a scam.
With the present shortage of conveyancers, firms need to ensure they are taking appropriate action to check conveyancers before taking them on.
National Policy Chairman, Mike Cherry said: "To see the scale of fraudulent referencing taking place is shocking, as getting the wrong candidate can have a catastrophic impact on smaller companies.
“With nearly one in five of our members having received applications with bogus references, it is clear that small businesses must be on their guard about this kind of fraud and take steps to check the employment history of candidates."
