A group of Wells Fargo employees, who worked remotely for the wealth and investment management team, were caught using tools to make it seem like they were working while actually being away from their desks. They simulated keyboard activity to give the impression that they were at their computers. Wells Fargo terminated these employees after reporting the unethical behaviour to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in June. The specific methods used to track and identify the absent workers were not disclosed in the FINRA report.
There are tools and software available that can take screenshots of employees’ computers to determine if the mouse is being actively used or if it’s just a simulation created by a device or tool. One example is a “mouse jiggler” which prevents a computer from going into sleep mode, creating the appearance of active computer use.
These tools are easily accessible online and are relatively inexpensive.
