The first reason to check references is that some people, unfortunately, either lie or hide important aspects of their background on résumés and in social media profiles and interviews. I remember a story published in the UK’s Mail on Sunday about an executive on the board and audit committee of a major British firm. She had claimed degrees she never earned, reported jobs she never held, and changed her name so potential employers wouldn’t realize that she’d already served two prison sentences for fraud. In other cases, as I described in chapter 9, people unknowingly overestimate and embellish their attributes while ignoring or downplaying their faults, and it’s those lies that references—out of kindness or fear of retaliation—often perpetuate.