Fictional attendance, often called "buddy punching," is one of the most damaging types of fraud for a company. Employees who are not physically present but are recorded as "clocked in" not only cause financial losses (by paying wages for work not performed) but also undermine the culture of discipline and fairness in the workplace.

 

Manual attendance methods like signature lists or even unsupervised fingerprint scanners still have loopholes. Therefore, modern companies need a more effective solution to prevent fictional attendance.

 

Why Does Fictional Attendance Happen?

 

This fraud often occurs not just because of bad intentions, but also because of a weak system. The leading causes include:

• Manual Systems: Using logbooks or spreadsheets that are easy to manipulate.

• "Buddy Punching": Using access cards or passwords that can be given to coworkers.

• Fingerprint Machines: Although better, fingerprint machines can still be fooled (e.g., with fake fingerprint molds) and cannot verify field workers' locations.

• Field/WFH Workers: The difficulty in accurately monitoring the location of remote workers or sales staff in the field.

 

The Solution: Preventing Fictional Attendance with HRIS

 

A modern HRIS (Human Resource Information System) offers technological solutions to close these fraud loopholes, primarily through online attendance features on smartphones.

 

1. Location Validation (GPS)

 

This feature is the first layer of security. Employees can only clock in if their smartphone is within the radius or coordinates of a predetermined location (e.g., the office area or a client's location). This prevents employees from clocking in from home or while on the road.

 

2. Biometric Validation (Selfie Photo)

 

This is the most important feature for preventing fictional attendance. The system not only requests a location but also requires the employee to take a live selfie. Liveness detection or face recognition technology ensures that the person clocking in is indeed the correct employee and not just a photo.

 

Read also: What is HR Analytics? Here are its Benefits!

 

3. Fake GPS Detection

 

Some employees try to trick GPS validation by using fake GPS or mock location apps. A sophisticated modern HRIS is already equipped with a system to detect the use of these forbidden apps and will automatically reject attendance if they are detected.

 

4. Real Time and Transparent Records

 

All attendance data (location, photo, and time) is logged into the database in real time. Managers or HRD can directly verify this data through a dashboard. This transparency makes employees think twice before committing fraud.

 

Preventing fictional attendance effectively requires a technology system that can accurately verify identity and location. Implementing a modern HRIS is the most effective way to create an attendance system that is fair, transparent, and unmanipulable.

 

Don't let attendance fraud harm your company. iPresens comes with GPS attendance and selfie validation technology to ensure every attendance data entry is accurate and verified.

 

Try a free iPresens demo today