As I am sitting here reveling in post-Christmas stuffedness (a word I can assure you exists), I was looking toward the new year with anticipation of what is to come. We are starting to put together plans for the new year and will hopefully be bouncing back like we are anticipating. While many companies are facing difficulties in this new year, still others are looking at growing their workforce and picking up some of the great talent on the marketplace. If you are a “buyer” in the talent market, I would encourage you to take action as there hasn’t been a better time to pick up some great people looking for work.

Like Christmas though, there can be some unexpected gifts if you are in the hiring business. Unfortunately none of them are as benign as your Aunt Edna’s fruit cake or the used tackle box you received from Uncle Joe.

What’s more concerning is how many people are making up new identities to get around criminal convictions, immigration status or creditors. Unfortunately, this isn’t just limited to adults. Check out this story from Miami:

Police say reports of missing baby boy was a hoax
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A frantic two-day search for a six-month-old child ended Friday as a hoax — with police arresting the 22-year-old woman who spun the tale.

Meagan McCormic had told police her child, Riley Archer Buchness, had disappeared Tuesday afternoon with a nanny named Camille.

But McCormic never had a child — she had a miscarriage six months ago, police said. And the nanny with a heavy French accent never existed.

McCormic admitted to police that she had used the fake existence of the baby to lure back John Buchness, an ex-boyfriend, who had traveled south to Miami from whereabouts unknown to meet his supposed son.

This hoax costed thousands in taxpayer dollars and the holidays of detectives working on this case.

The same thing could happen to your company if you don’t properly background check your employees. Ensuring that they actually exist is a good first step. It can save you thousands of dollars in both turnover costs, business losses and potential lawsuits.

It can also help protect you against people who continue to perpetuate cases problems like this. People convicted for peddling identiy information or helping people create new identities also show up in criminal background checks.