The American Psychological Association recently reported that 67 percent of all job seekers fabricate or embellish their managerial or supervisory duties on resumes.

A 1998 survey by the Society of Human Resource Management showed that 90 percent of respondents who checked candidates’ past job titles, employment length, and salary histories reported some falsification. And the Personnel Journal reports that more than 500,000 people are claiming a bogus college degree.

Other polls don’t show a high degree of deception. The Certified Reference Checking Co. of St. Louis, says 36 percent of all resumes contain some form of untruth, an increase of 24 percent since they first polled corporations in 1979.

“I’ve been in the business 20 years, and (resume lying) has significantly increased in the last 10 or so years,” said P. Anthony Price, managing director of Russell Reynolds Associates, a San Francisco executive search firm. “But there also is much more diligence by many companies in reference checking.”

Companies need to be vigilant in reference checking to avoid negligence lawsuits There have been cases, experts say, in which longtime employees caught in a resume lie have sued for wrongful termination even though they admit to the fabrication. They point to their years of service on the job and positive performance reviews.