Fraudulent training certifications have long been a concern for contractors, fall protection specialists, and infrastructure trainers in the telecommunications industry. With advanced printing technology and the occasional Photoshop-savvy tower technician, fake credentials have become a recurring issue.
In at least two climber fatalities, investigations revealed that certification cards found in the deceased workers’ wallets were not recognized as legitimate by the issuing organizations. This raises the troubling possibility that proper training might have saved their lives.
Years ago, a tower technician created a side business selling counterfeit certifications through a Facebook group, highlighting the need for heightened industry vigilance.
To address this issue, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association released a video to raise awareness about fraudulent certificates this week.
Despite such efforts, the problem persists. According to training company executives, counterfeit documents remain an issue, albeit not widespread, thanks partly to resources like Avetta and training company QR code verifications, which helps vet worker credentials.
Verification practices and challenges
Many contractors hiring independent crews proactively verify credentials by contacting training providers directly.
Dominique Valdez, President of eSystem Training Solutions—a respected training company with over 450 clients and more than 48,000 graduates—explains that certificate validation can be quickly done on the company’s website. While she regularly receives email verification requests from diligent contractors, Valdez says she’s unsurprised by the frequency of counterfeit certifications.
“It’s obvious it’s a forgery when the type fonts don’t match,” she noted, emphasizing the unsophisticated nature of many fakes.
According to Valdez, most fraudulent credentials come from small, single-crew companies. In such cases, eSystem and other training providers typically issue cease-and-desist letters. Unfortunately, these under-the-radar contractors often ignore such notices, disregarding safety measures while securing work as independent contractors.
Industry-wide efforts to combat fraud are minimal
eSystem’s founder, Gordon Lyman, is a prominent safety expert and a member of the NATE/OSHA Relations Committee, and he has also contributed to industry standards groups such as ANSI and TIA, earning NATE’s Distinguished Service Award.
Despite his and other experts’ efforts, the legal landscape limits what training providers can do to expose fraudulent individuals and contractors.
Pursuing civil cases is challenging. Employers or trainers would need to prove financial harm caused by the falsification, and legal fees can exceed $5,000 with little or no compensation.
Consolidation idea collapses
In 2019, Clifford Wilcox, brother of Comtrain founder Winton Wilcox, introduced QRedentials, an online certification consolidator for the training industry. The platform promised to streamline verification, eliminate fraud, and enhance credibility for professional training providers.
In a Wireless Estimator article, he said the key to its success is “in the hands of the truly professional training providers. If they will integrate our process, they will save thousands of dollars, increase their credibility, and stop the fraud for good.”
At the time, QRedentials appeared to have clients from major training companies such as Comtrain, Safety LMS, Capital Safety, and CITCA. However, the platform’s momentum seemed to stall, potentially due to training companies’ reluctance to share proprietary client and graduate data.
OSHA can’t be the enforcement arm for compliance
An individual cannot be fined or jailed for obtaining a counterfeit training certification. However, forging a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is a serious offense that carries significant legal penalties with fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years in prison in some states.
Yet, when a tower technician lacks proper rigging or other required skill sets and provides false documentation that they are qualified to perform dangerous tasks, clearly putting their lives, their coworkers’ lives, and possibly the general public’s lives at risk, OSHA cannot fine the individual; instead, it holds the employer responsible for ensuring workers are qualified.
