Around 40% of people know someone who has falsified information on their CV or on an application form, according to research by BackgroundChecking.com.

The study found 39% of people would lie on their CV if they thought it would to go undetected. The most likely types of ‘CV fraud’ would be salary (23%), level of previous experience (14%) and educational qualifications (13%), followed by dates of employment (10%), job title (9%) and age (6%).

Some respondents even felt that ‘forgetting’ their criminal records or actually faking references was worth falsifying.

Steve Bailey, managing director of BackgroundChecking.com, says: “This research has uncovered a worrying level of dishonesty amongst the British workforce and serves as a stark warning to employers. ‘Chancing’ fraudsters seem to be reliant on the fact that prospective employers do not check the information that is stated on CVs and job applications.”

The poll also found that 43% of men would lie on a CV or application form if they thought they could get away with it, compared with 36% of women.