A candidate explains how they’d solve a technical problem and answers all of your follow-up questions. Their answers were great—perfect, actually. But… maybe a little too perfect?
Maybe they used AI. Maybe they’re the expert their resume says they are. Who knows?
Either way, if you guess wrong, you lose a solid candidate or hire someone who can’t do the job without AI.
Why is interview cheating so hard to catch?
One of the biggest problems employers face with remote hiring is that they suspect candidates are cheating, but they can’t prove it.
And it doesn’t help that hidden AI assistants exist to make cheating easy on interviews and assessments. That’s all they do.
And new tools are popping up every day, which only makes the problem worse. Employers are looking for yesterday’s interview cheating tools, while candidates are using new ones today and already have others lined up for tomorrow.
What tools are candidates using to cheat during remote interviews?
Candidates are primarily using hidden AI assistants, remote access software that allows a proxy to complete the interview, and deepfake technology that alters their voice as well as their face and environment.
Hidden AI assistants
Hidden AI assistants sit on screen as a transparent overlay or they can be used on a cell phone. These tools are like a ChatGPT or Claude teleprompter during remote interviews.
They listen to questions the interviewer asks and read what’s on a candidate’s screen, and provide answers in real time. And they won’t show up during screen sharing or if you ask the candidate to show the processes they’re running on the device.
Remote access software
Remote access software is used during a type of interview fraud called proxy interviewing which is when someone else—usually a paid expert—controls the candidate’s device from a remote location and does the work for them. These tools are similar to remote desktop platforms support teams use, such as TeamViewer and LogMeIn, to log into an employee’s device to help them fix a technical issue.
Deepfake voice and video
Deepfake AI can change the voice, face, and background of whoever is completing the interview, and they’re much harder to notice now. AI can clone someone’s voice from a 15 to 30 second recording. Deepfake video now looks realistic, adjusts to changes in lighting, and can even get past the old trick of asking the candidate to put their hand in front of their face.
What is interview proctoring?
Interview proctoring is software that verifies a candidate’s identity, scans their room for unauthorized resources, blocks AI assistance, and monitors their activity to detect and prevent cheating during remote interviews and assessments.
You can proctor interviews in different formats such as remote video interviews and hands-on technical interviews.
Along with detecting candidate fraud, organizations use interview proctoring to make remote interviews consistent as they hire more people and to keep a record they can use if anyone questions who they hired. The right interview proctoring tool can also replace the separate tools many companies piece together to prevent interview fraud, which can get expensive and clunky.
Fraud continues beyond interviews
Candidates can use the same AI tools on pre-hire assessments, and employees can use them on tests during onboarding, mandatory training, and professional development. Proctoring can cover each of these, even hands-on tests that happen inside real software.
Proctored pre-hire assessments
Pre-hire assessments can test what candidates know or ask them to work in the tools they’d use on the job, like a task in Excel or a writing sample. Online proctored technical assessments can also have candidates write code in an integrated development environment (IDE).
It uses identity verification to confirm who they are, then records the session, detects cell phones and smartwatches, and blocks unauthorized AI while still allowing candidates to use the applications the assessment requires.
Proctored assessments for employees
Proctoring can secure assessments at every stage of an employee’s time with your organization, from their first week on the job to certifications they earn years later.
- Onboarding: New hires can take proctored tests to show they understand your policies, systems, and what their job requires.
- Mandatory training: Proctoring can confirm who is completing the training and whether they actually attended and took part.
- Skills tests: Employees who are upskilling or reskilling can take hands-on tests to show they can apply what they learned in real software.
- Professional education: Proctoring also works for the certification and licensure exams employees take as they grow in their careers.
Honorlock's proctoring solutions secure interviews & assessments throughout the employee lifecycle
Honorlock’s Hiring Integrity Solutions provide end-to-end proctoring that secures every stage of the employee lifecycle, from the first interview in the hiring process through learning and development.
Interview Integrity
Honorlock Interview Integrity uses AI proctoring tools to detect and prevent candidate fraud in video interviews. It integrates with video conferencing platforms and allows organizations to verify identity, record activity, and block unauthorized tools like hidden AI, remote access, and deepfake AI.
After each interview, your hiring team gets an in-depth report with timestamps, so reviewers can see what happened in context and make an better hiring decisions.
Assessment Integrity
Combines AI monitoring with live proctor review to secure any assessments candidates and employees may take. This includes pre-hire assessments, new hire onboarding, compliance training, and learning and development programs such as certification exams. It also lets your team allow the applications needed, like Excel, Word, or an IDE.
Honorlock secures every stage of the employee lifecycle, so you don’t have to piece together different tools and hope they work together to stop fraud. With Honorlock, you can build a foundation of trust for your entire workforce, one interview and assessment at a time.
