A Bangalore startup hired a “senior data scientist” through four rounds of video interviews. Impressive technical knowledge. Great communication. Strong cultural fit. Three weeks in, the engineering lead noticed something odd: this person’s coding style was completely different from the live assessment. Their Slack writing style had changed. Even their accent on internal calls was subtly different from the interviews.
They’d hired a proxy. The person who interviewed was not the person sitting in the home office in Electronic City writing code.
The investigation revealed a Telegram group offering “interview-as-a-service” for Rs. 35,000 per engagement, with a guarantee: if the candidate doesn’t clear, the next attempt is free.
Welcome to India’s Proxy Interview Industry
Proxy interviews existed before COVID. Remote hiring turned them from a rare oddity into a scalable, marketed service. Services across India now charge Rs. 20,000-50,000 to provide a “professional interviewer” who impersonates the actual candidate through video calls. Some offer packages: proxy for all rounds, coaching between rounds, and a “support buddy” who feeds answers via WhatsApp during the first month of work.
NASSCOM flagged this as a growing concern in Indian IT as early as 2022. Multiple Reddit threads from Indian recruiters describe discovering proxies weeks or months into employment. One thread documented a Hyderabad-based proxy ring that serviced over 200 candidates in a single year — each paying Rs. 30,000-40,000 for interviews at TCS, Infosys, and Wipro vendor positions.
How It Actually Works
The basic version: Candidate A (average skills, wants the job) pays Candidate B (strong skills, wants the money) to take the video interviews. Candidate A joins the company. The deception relies on one fact: most companies never compare the face on the interview video with the face on the identity document.
The sophisticated version: Real-time answer feeding. The proxy sits off-camera and feeds technical answers through an earpiece or a second screen while the actual candidate speaks on camera. Harder to detect because the right person is visible — just not the right brain.
The AI-enhanced version (emerging): Deepfake filters that overlay the candidate’s face on the proxy’s video feed. A proxy in Koramangala talks while the candidate’s face in Whitefield moves on screen. Still rare, but technically feasible with consumer-grade tools.
Detection Methods That Actually Work
1. Liveness verification during onboarding. Compare a live facial capture during digital onboarding with the photo on the Aadhaar used for identity verification AND with a screenshot from the recorded interview. Three-point face match. If the person joining doesn’t match either the ID or the interview, it’s caught immediately. This single step defeats 95% of proxy attempts.
2. Interview recording + onboarding face match. Record at least one video interview (with candidate consent — mention it in your interview scheduling email). During onboarding, compare faces. SpringVerify’s Aadhaar-based facial match with liveness detection provides the technical infrastructure for this comparison.
3. Multi-point identity verification. Aadhaar face match + PAN verification + a live selfie during onboarding. Three independent identity confirmations that are extremely difficult to defeat simultaneously.
4. In-interview signals to watch for. Eyes consistently looking to the left or right (reading from a hidden screen). Audio latency or echo suggesting a relay setup. Reluctance to turn on camera or share screen. Technical depth that varies dramatically between rounds (different proxies for different rounds). Asking to reschedule when you request a surprise technical round.
5. First-week verification tasks. A short technical task in the first week that mirrors interview assessment complexity. If someone solved a system design problem eloquently in the interview but struggles with basic implementation in week one, investigate.
What to Do If You Suspect a Proxy
Don’t accuse immediately. Request a video call with camera on, citing “onboarding documentation needs.” Compare the face to interview recordings. If there’s a mismatch, escalate to HR and Legal before confronting the employee.
Document evidence. Screenshot comparisons, interview recordings, liveness check results. You’ll need this for termination proceedings.
Review your employment contract. Most contracts include a clause on misrepresentation of credentials. Identity fraud during hiring typically constitutes grounds for immediate termination, but consult your legal team on the specific process.
Report to the proxy service if you can identify it. While there’s no specific law criminalizing proxy interviews, identity fraud and impersonation have provisions under the Indian Penal Code (Section 419: cheating by personation).
SpringVerify’s identity verification suite — Aadhaar-based facial match with liveness detection, multi-document verification, and onboarding-stage identity confirmation — is specifically designed to close the proxy gap that document-only verification leaves wide open.
Key Takeaways:
•Proxy interview services are a marketed industry in India, operating openly on Telegram for Rs. 20,000-50,000
•Three-point face match (interview recording + Aadhaar photo + live onboarding selfie) defeats 95% of proxies
•Record at least one interview round with candidate consent — this is your comparison baseline
•First-week technical tasks that mirror interview complexity are a behavioral proxy detection layer
•Identity fraud during hiring constitutes grounds for termination under most employment contracts — document everything
