Companies are increasing and tightening background checks on delivery and warehouse staff, drivers, logistics partners and even temporary workers as they look to weed out candidates with fradulent or criminal records who could hurt their brand reputation.
OnGrid, AuthBridge, IDfy and BetterPlace are among the background check service providers that said there has been a sharp increase in mandates as background checks and employee verification–once confined to conventional sectors like IT and banking–extends its reach across e-commerce, transportation, logistics, retail and healthcare, among others.
“The surge is particularly evident in sectors undergoing organisation transformation, especially with the formal inclusion of gig workers into the economy,” said Piyush Peshwani, CEO of OnGrid. “As these roles become more structured and integrated into formal economic systems, there’s a big uptick in background verification of these employees and contractors as well.”
The platform has seen a 20% increase in demand and customer onboarding compared to last year. Its clients include BlinkIt, Flipkart, Delhivery, Ola Cabs, Gati, Zomato, Myntra, Reliance Retail, TATA Croma, BigBasket, Domino’s, Country Delight and Xpressbees, among others.
Maximum growth is coming in from sectors where service providers engage directly with end customers–roles like delivery personnel for ecommerce/logistics companies, drivers with ride-hailing platforms, and service professionals offering home services or nursing / healthcare services.
On Alert:
Types of fraud include identity theft, with instances of using another person’s ID and superimposing one’s face on it, as well as concealed criminal records. Misrepresentation of employment tenure is prevalent, and a moonlighting check is also common now.
Besides doorstep physical verifications, reference, education, employment checks, digital identity and criminal record checks, background verification firms are now deploying artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to fortify the verification process.
Given high attrition in temp roles, OnGrid for instance, can deliver a ‘basic hygiene check’ within four hours, aligning with the need for swift hiring procedures.
Flagging Frauds:
“We see about 1.5% of false ID proofs being submitted during onboarding, which gets flagged during the verification. About 0.8% false degrees and previous employment details are being submitted. We have been able to flag about 0.45% of people who have some criminal background, and out of that about 7.5% are from a different state/jurisdiction, which means they have shifted to a different location after committing the crime,” said Pravin Agarwala, co-founder of human capital SaaS platform BetterPlace, which also offers background screening services.
Logistics and mobility, ecommerce and retail roles have contributed to more than 60% of the overall demand in the last two years — but in FY23, logistics and mobility saw a bigger spike as compared with ecommerce, growing by 111%, as people returned to work. This trend is continuing in FY24, said Agarwala.
“There has been a noticeable surge in background checks within the on-demand economy workforce across diverse sectors,” said Ajay Trehan, CEO of identity verification and due diligence platform AuthBridge.
“This trend is expected to continue and possibly intensify in the future, particularly with the rise of AI-driven frauds like deepfakes, making impersonation checks more crucial. Businesses must prioritise security by implementing robust verification solutions,” said Trehan.
Wriju Ray, CBO of IDfy, said that for profiles like delivery executives and drivers, aspects like their criminal records, where they live, etc., are looked at. Demand is also coming in from new entrants in the market that promise 10-minute deliveries.
“Our acquisition of CrimeCheck allows us instant access to nation-wide crime data provided by Indian courts,” said Ray. “In the last year or so, instant checks have taken over and the process is automatic. One of the asks coming to us from clients now is authenticating the profiles on a regular basis–not just while onboarding–because frauds are becoming sophisticated now.”
