The art of deception has never been more potent—or damaging—in the context of modern business.
In this article we chart the alarming rise of ‘corporate catfishing’, and advise how to prevent your company from being subject to corporate fraud. Read on, wise up and stay smart.
The antithesis of business transparency, corporate fraud can entail the intentional deception of investors, business partners and even employees, for financial gain or recognition of a business that may be not quite what it says on the tin.
Corporate fraud is nothing new, but new forms of business fraud are becoming increasingly prevalent in a digital environment, including corporate catfishing and fabricated business information. Once you know some of the deceptive trends that are circulating in business today, you’ll be far more prepared to spot the signs and face the fakery head-on. We’ll look at:
1. What is corporate fraud?
The UK Home Office reports that UK businesses experienced approximately 8.58 million cyber crimes of all types, including around 680,000 non-phishing cyber crimes, over 2024.
Ransomware incidents in particular are steadily increasing, up on 1% of UK businesses reporting experiences in 2025 from 0.5% in 2024.
Corporate fraud can take many forms, including tunnelling, in which a majority shareholder or senior company insider directs company assets or future business to themselves for personal gain, or catfishing, in which a company or person sets out to deceive another individual or business through the creation of a fake identity (see below). Corporate fraud can be conducted by companies, organised groups, lone individuals, or internal company staff committing fraud not to the knowledge of the wider company.
Famous examples of corporate fraud include the 2008 Lehman Brothers scandal, in which the financial services firm filed for bankruptcy after hiding more than $50 billion in loans which had been disguised as sales, triggering the global financial crisis. The Theranos scandal saw CEO Elizabeth Holmes deceive investors and customers over the viability of the company’s blood-testing technology, which was later revealed to be a scam.
2. What is corporate catfishing?
Corporate catfishing is a very distinct form of corporate fraud, and has become startlingly prevalent due to the anonymity granted by online business interactions. An individual, group or company create a fake identity, and uses this to win the trust of another business, for the purpose of financial gain, extracting personal information or peer-approved validation of the fake business (which may allow the fake business to gain a foothold in a certain industry, or win lucrative contracts).
The three main types of corporate catfishing differ depending on the type of target the catfisher is aiming for:
B2B or investor catfishing
Fraudsters may create a fake company identity or falsify information about an existing company, in order to deceive potential business partners, suppliers or investors.
These types of fraud can be extremely elaborate and considered, involving the creation of fake websites and social media profiles, staging fake investor or fund-raising events, or pedalling false information concerning the background and credentials of senior individuals at the company.
Employee or corporate catfishing
Google the term ‘corporate catfishing’ and the prevalent definition of this applies to when companies or recruiters use false information and misleading tactics to attract job seekers. An embellished job description might advertise perks and salaries that are fabricated or exaggerated, or in some cases companies might even create fake social media accounts and websites to give the impression that they are far more impressive than they really are.
If a company has been subject to accusations of a toxic work culture by current or former employees, they may react by channelling efforts into curating a ‘rose-tinted’ impression online, rather than working towards rectifying the cultural issues.
Candidate catfishing
AI-generated CVs, false CV information or fake educational credentials. Some job-seeking candidates will go the extra mile to effectively ‘catfish’ potential employers.
White lies are one thing, but falsifying information about education, employment history or a criminal record can have serious implications for the hiring company’s reputation.
While application embellishment is on the rise, you can make sure you bring the right employees on board with a thorough background check, that separates fact from fiction.
3. Signs you or your business is being catfished
Corporate catfishing, by its nature, can be extremely sophisticated and, compared to phishing or phone scams, is often conducted with a long-term plan in mind. The catfisher’s activity might be subtle at first, escalating as time goes on and trust is built up.
A surprising number of businesses fall for catfishers, and it can take many stealthy forms. Taking on the wrong senior hire due to untrue information provided at the outset of employment is a sure way to erode company culture from the inside-out, while a carefully curated business partnership can quickly end in tears when the catfisher eventually strikes.
The key is prevention, and learning to spot these telling signs early on can help you to stop catfishing in its tracks:
You run a background check…with unexpected results
Experienced fraudsters don’t want to be caught out, and they are aware as much as anyone that a quick Google search of their name or company could pull the plug on their scam. So many catfishers and scammers will curate fake social media profiles or strive to remove negative content about themselves online.
An early-doors reputation report of the person or company can unearth untruths in minutes, and allow you to cross-compare content that they have provided and what’s being said about them elsewhere.
They are elusive when details are requested
Whether it’s an individual or company you suspect of being less than truthful, key signs of catfishing are evasion and diversion.
The more details you ask that they cannot or will not deliver can point to suspicious intent. For example, if you are looking to contract the business or enter into a partnership, you can request that full details are sent to a legal representative (of your choice), and that the company is subject to a background audit before committing pen to paper.
The involvement of outside parties will complicate and potentially sabotage the scam, so this is a good way of flushing out any ill intention before moving forward.
They pressure you quickly
Although catfishers are more patient than other fraudsters, they still want to reach their end goal in good time. You might sense that the dynamic suddenly and inexplicably shifts, with the company pressuring you to enter into a deal or similar, and responding negatively when you ask for more time.
If you feel pressured to make action regarding money quite soon into the interaction, this is a strong sign the catfisher is losing patience and looking to close in on its victim soon.
4. How to avoid corporate fraud
Corporate fraud is becoming more subtle and nuanced, so it’s actually no surprise that so many UK businesses are falling victim to scam activity. However, there are several steps you can take to prevent corporate fraud and catfishing which are well worth being aware of, including:
Initiating a face-to-face meeting
Seems obvious, right? The vast majority of corporate crime cases are now digital in nature, with fraudsters curating long-term and carefully planned scams against businesses online, over email or social media.
As an example, UK Finance reported that Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud has seen a major uptick since the pandemic, increasing by 30% on average.
To perform a successful APP fraud, scammers often prepare weeks or months in advance, using a mixture of communication methods such as WhatsApp, social media posts and fake websites to manipulate their business victims before pushing the button.
A simple tip, if ever in doubt about the intentions of another person, is to initiate a face-to-face meeting. For your everyday fraudster, this alone is often enough of a deterrent to end the scam prematurely.
While this is a good testing tactic for many scams, keep in mind that more sophisticated corporate fraud can easily take place in person, with contacts you may already know, or even from within your company. And it’s also important to never meet someone in person who you have serious suspicions about. Report your suspicions first (see below) to stay on the safe side.
Conducting thorough background screening
With the aid of AI and digital technology, background auditing is now smarter and more thorough than ever before. It’s advisable to conduct background checks of anyone your business hires or comes into contact with; it’s just good due diligence.
Toxic employees often have the ability to create a malevolent working environment, which can impact on morale and productivity, so it’s really important to try to avoid bringing in a ‘bad apple’ in the first place, and pre-interview background checks are really the only way to do this.
An AI-powered background research tool like YOONO allows you to assess someone’s complete digital footprint, including their background, employment history and company affiliations, so you can always start off on the right foot.
Recording evidence
Keep a copy of emails and any other form of communication you have received from the fraudster. Recording exact dates, times and types of communication, as well as any information you have about their background or contact details, can be helpful in processing a complaint (see below) and successfully seeking compensation.
Lodging a complaint
You can report a company you suspect of committing fraud or running scams to the UK government’s Insolvency Service.
You can also report suspected fraud activity to ActionFraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Corporate fraud…swerved
Your business and its brand reputation is precious—you’ve worked hard to build it and maintain it, so why risk it on one suspect hire or interaction?
Corporate fraud is on the rise, which makes due diligence even more essential. With YOONO you can generate a complete background report about an individual in minutes, ensuring that they are who they say they are, and that you can move forward with confidence.
It’s not about casting suspicion, just doing the right thing by you and your business. Start a YOONO search and see how smart tech can protect your business’ reputation.