Annual Report 2024
Identity checks, trends, and methods in the Swedish labor market.
About the report
Sistec AB ensures, through the service Right to Work, individuals' identities and their right to work and reside in Sweden through verification and ongoing follow-up.
This report highlights the trends we observed during 2024 based on the checks we performed for our clients. The report also provides an overview of Swedish authorities' view on societal development. Since the start in 2019, Sistec has conducted over 300,000 identity validations, with a presence in 20 locations and support in 10 languages.
The report aims to highlight the importance of identity checks in the labor market and how awareness has increased during 2024. Increased global tensions, political decisions in both Sweden and the EU, and rising crime have contributed to this need.
Identity checks in the labor market
CER Directive
During 2024, the CER Directive (Critical Entities Resilience) has received significant attention. The directive emphasizes the importance of verifying the identity of personnel in essential services. According to the government's investigation, new checks should also be conducted on existing personnel, by reviewing the individual's criminal record extract at least every two years.
Municipal opportunities for checks
The government's investigation emphasizes that verifying the individual's identity is the first step in all control measures. Quote: "It cannot be overstated that a register check cannot replace good personal knowledge and that a register check has no value if the applicant's identity has not been established."
Support requirement
The introduction of the support requirement has increased awareness of verifying the right to work, especially in labor-intensive industries. A direct effect is that a large group of previously legal labor is no longer employable, which has created a recruitment base for unscrupulous employers.
Nationality
The global situation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in increased awareness of the nationality of individuals that employers hire or grant workplace access to. More companies are now conducting nationality checks to ensure they do not employ individuals who may pose a security risk.
Background checks
The debate around background checks has continued throughout 2024. However, a background check is not the same as an identity check - identity checks and labor law checks do not handle sensitive data, and it is employers' statutory obligation to verify the right to work.
Swedish National Audit Office
The Swedish National Audit Office has reviewed authorities' work in verifying identities. They have identified shortcomings in how authorities verify the identity of individuals and have recommended improvements.
Identity fraud, trends, and methods
Money mules
Suspected money mules at legal workplaces continue. An advisor or lawyer helps them with bank accounts and employment. The salary is forwarded to criminal organizations.
Lookalike
Sharp increase in England of cases where genuine passports are used by the wrong person. Same trend observed at Right to Work checks in Sweden.
Driver's licenses in commercial traffic
Every week, fake driver's licenses are reported at police checkpoints. SVT Skane identified 63 cases of fake driver's licenses in service.
Fake Ukrainian passports
Trend break 2024 - fake Ukrainian passports used for residence permits under the mass displacement directive.
Job-seeking students
Increase in employees with permits as "job-seeking students" who work full-time without studying.
eID remotely
eID does not show nationality and cannot ensure that the right person is identifying themselves. Common for eID to be lent out.
Digital ID cards
Systembolaget and other major actors reject digital ID cards - too many well-made forgeries.
AI-generated ID documents
AI creates exact copies of genuine documents for a large number of nationalities. Purpose: display on web meetings or send digitally.
Long-term residents in another EU state
We have seen an increase in third-country nationals with long-term resident status in another EU state who work full-time in Sweden without applying for a Swedish residence permit.
Recommendations and summary
Recommendations for employers
Physical meeting - Conduct the check at a physical meeting. All ID documents and permits should be reviewed in original.
Verify nationality - Ensure that the ID document contains information about nationality. Driver's licenses and the Swedish Tax Agency's ID cards are not sufficient.
Do not accept remote eID - Digital identification remotely cannot ensure that the right person is identifying themselves.
Do not accept images - Images can easily be manipulated and should not be used for identification.
Summary
Several factors indicate that requirements for ID checks for Swedish employers will increase going forward. Swedish authorities have begun to take the issue of secure identification more seriously.
Criminals' methods for exploiting vulnerable people employed at legitimate workplaces constitute not only a money laundering scheme but also a significant risk of illicit influence against the employer.
With the advent of deepfakes, the physical meeting may soon be the only reliable way to ensure that you are checking and talking to the right person.