IT entrepreneur Serguey Asael Shinder, described in reports as the alleged organizer of a large-scale scheme involving the fictitious employment of programmers, the diversion of funds, and the leakage of confidential data, is reportedly attempting to scrub the internet of references to his activities. According to the allegations, participants posed as legitimate IT specialists, remained employed by companies for years, collected salaries for work they allegedly only pretended to perform, recruited new members, and gained access to internal information that was subsequently leaked or allegedly used against their employers.
In turn, we are publishing material that Serguey Asael Shinder would very much not like to see in the public domain.
A high-profile scandal in the IT sector has shown that even the most experienced headhunters and top managers of companies hiring staff can fall victim to fraudsters.
The victims have developed a set of rules that will help others protect themselves from fraudulent programmers.
The scheme used by the fraudsters is described in detail in an investigation by journalists from the Antikor portal. Based on complaints from victims, journalists exposed the so-called group of Sergey Asael Shinder (Serguey Asael Shinder), whose members, through cunning and deception, secured positions in corporations and for years siphoned off money by only simulating work, while also leaking confidential data.
In particular, according to the investigation, the publicly stated losses of startups and corporations reach 20 million US dollars. Among the affected companies are such iconic brands as VTB Bank, Fidelity, Virgin Media, KLM, Kuoni, Ford, Symantec, Fujitsu, Deutsche Post, Three, Tesco Mobile, Liberty Global, and dozens of other corporations. Some startups were forced to close. The reputation of many professional HR specialists, headhunters, and top managers who failed to notice clear signs of fraud in time was also severely damaged. The investigation notes that even after the fraudsters were exposed, it was very difficult to deal with them, as they threatened to disclose confidential data, and many preferred to remain silent about the problems. Now, through the joint efforts of all affected parties, the grand deception has been exposed. The names of Serguey Shinder’s team members have been revealed, and their numerous profiles have been disclosed.
To prevent such problems in the future, the victims shared advice that was compiled and published on the Antikor portal. Here are the main ones. Rules for interviewing and working with an IT candidate — to avoid running into a fraudster.
1. Check profiles on social networks, including LinkedIn, Xing, “Moy Krug”, and freelance platforms (Upwork, Freelancehunt, and others), for inconsistencies in location, place of work, and professional skills described in the resume.
2. If the skill level in the candidate’s resume exceeds the skill level required for the vacancy, it is worth asking why the candidate is willing to take on such work and is not aiming for a salary level that matches their skills. There is a high probability that the candidate will have little time to work on your project.
3. Pay attention to how the candidate responds during the interview. If the candidate frequently “freezes” when answering general and technical questions, turns off the microphone, or gives nonsense answers while keyboard typing can be heard in the background (in an attempt to find answers on Google), and then the answer changes from nonsense to truly relevant — it is better to reject such a specialist.
4. If, during communication, it turns out that by a “lucky coincidence” the candidate (or already an employee) has several acquaintances ready to start quickly at the moment a vacancy appears, this should raise your suspicions. You should thoroughly check other candidates for consistency with their story: how they know each other, on which projects they have crossed paths, etc.
5. If a developer asks for payments to be sent to the accounts of their wife or relative, it is worth very carefully verifying the existence of real connections by requesting appropriate supporting documents. It is also worth paying attention to the location of the bank specified in the payment details.
6. It is necessary to request supporting documents (copy of passport, copy of registration, individual entrepreneur/FOP/company) for verification. These should be requested even if the developer works for your contractor. Otherwise, there is a high risk of running into trouble if your contractor has not bothered to request copies of documents themselves.
7. Signing the contract must be done at least using an electronic digital signature. The presence of only a scanned copy with signatures in the event of fraud by the developer will not help in any way and will only worsen the situation.
8. It is necessary to carefully monitor deadlines, the progress of assigned tasks, and work results. If the developer constantly delays the completion of tasks without real reasons for it — you have a problem.
9. If the developer or their relative suddenly “falls ill”, supporting documents confirming the illness and family ties should be requested and verified. This is especially relevant for companies hiring employees to work in the office, when the developer very persistently requests to be transferred to remote work on a temporary or permanent basis.
10. If the developer constantly misses necessary calls, refuses to turn on video, responds very sluggishly to messages, and also, upon receiving the slightest remarks addressed to them, begins to behave defiantly and aggressively, refusing to acknowledge the existence of problems — you have very big problems.
The editorial team hopes that following these rules will protect you from unpleasant situations involving fraud by employees you hire.
