Just under a fifth of people have claimed to have lied on their CV - or they know someone who has.
image via pixabayA study from a UK fraud prevention service, Cifas, found that 19% of people have told a fib on their CV in the past year, compared to 17 percent the previous year.
2,000 people across the UK were surveyed between late August and early September for the research.
The research found that 38% of 16 to 24-year-olds had lied about qualifications or knew someone who had.
Whilst the figure was at 30% for 35 to 44-year-olds.
Future of work expert, Peter Cosgrove, believes the actual figure is significantly higher and believes what people would see as a fib or a lie is different on a CV.
'A lot of people would have probably over-egged their CV a bit, but probably wouldn't see it as a lie'
Those who are found to have made fraudulent applications could risk ending up with a criminal record, Cifa's warned.
Cifa's’ insider threat manager, Tracey Carpenter, said: 'Whilst it may seem like a harmless exaggeration, there are very serious consequences associated with CV fraud, which can open up a gateway to other types of offences including bribery and employee theft'.
The research also revealed that two in five people who suspected their colleague of CV fraud would not report it, which shows an increase from the previous year when a third said the same
