Job recruiters report flood of AI-generated resumes and deepfakes

Job interviews are increasingly being infiltrated by artificial intelligence, with 72% of recruiters reporting everything from face-swapping video tricks to resumes written entirely by machines, a 2025 Software Finder survey has found. The study, which surveyed 874 HR professionals, recorded the use of AI across both application documents and live interview manipulation.

Fraudulent submissions included AI-generated portfolios in 51% of cases, fabricated references in 42% and counterfeit diplomas or records in 39%. Seventeen percent of recruiters detected voice cloning or filters during interviews and 15% saw face-swapping software used to alter appearances. Nearly half said they rejected resumes suspected of AI authorship, while 40% declined candidates flagged for identity manipulation.

Julia Frament, head of Global HR at Ironscales, told HR Brew, “Fraud hiring isn’t new…it’s really just evolved. Before it was mostly misrepresentation … stretching titles or fabricating degrees, maybe borrowing experience, maybe ghosting verification, using fake references, using friends to pose as past managers.”

Technology roles were named by 65% of recruiters as most vulnerable to AI-driven fraud, followed by marketing at 49%, creative and design at 47% and finance at 42%. Government jobs were flagged in 21% of cases, healthcare in 19% and education in 15%. Larger companies with more than 250 staff were seen as particularly exposed, though 35% of respondents said organizations of all sizes face the problem.

Only 31% of companies use AI or deepfake detection software, while 66% rely on manual reviews, 53% on background checks and 27% on biometric tools. Nearly half of HR professionals said they have received no training on AI fraud. An earlier Gartner report projected that a quarter of job applications could be fraudulent or deepfaked by 2028.