Wells Fargo says it has fired more than a dozen employees for using software to mimic legitimate work activity on their computers.
According to Bloomberg, the financial giant filed a report with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, saying the employee were “discharged after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work.”
Software used to mimic legitimate activity rose to popularity during the pandemic, as some work-from-home employees looked for ways to cheat the system. The use of such software, often called “mouse movers” or “mouse jigglers,” are one of the reasons some employers have such a dim view of remote work, despite its many advantages for employee and employer alike.
As the outlet points out, there is no indication from the filing whether the employees in question were remote or in-person workers. Either way, Wells Fargo made clear it will not tolerate such actions.
“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior,” a company spokesperson told the outlet in a statement.