Isn't it stupid to deceive and be deceived?

I was reading the headlines of The Sunday Times' - an article about people faking educational and professional credentials, mocking up their CVs and posting inaccurate information about themselves while applying for jobs.

A question that flashed through my mind immediately was this: How can someone even think that he/she will be able to lie their way to a job and not expect to be exposed?

A subsequent question was: If a company takes on someone without doing basic background checks on that person, then the company is at fault. Either HR personnel is lazing on job, or the company cannot be bothered to do thorough research, in which case it fully deserves to be deceived.

I recently signed a 3month contract with a company and when I went down to their HR department, I was asked to bring along my educational certs. Once there, I had to fill up forms requesting for previous employment references etc. With such information required and the ease of connectivity that we all enjoy these days, to dial a number as part of employee verification is easy-peasy. Yet, we hear of companies being cheated and workers lying about their qualifications.

This is a strange world that we live in if one is to be held responsible for the deception of others, but this unfortunately is true. The employer is as much responsible for verifying potential employees' information as the employee himself is entrusted to provide credible details.

As the saying goes, "Buyer Beware". It applies till this day, and will increasingly continue to hold significance as the field levels up and information becomes readily available to one and all.