Wells Fargo reportedly fired people for alleged 'simulation of keyboard activity'

If you're worried your boss can tell whether you're really working or not online, here's a cautionary tale.

Wells Fargo & Co. fired a dozen employees in May for allegedly faking keyboard activity, making it appear they were working, according to report from Bloomberg.

Up to 12 staffers in the banking giant's investing and wealth management services were reportedly "discharged after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work," according to the news outlet, citing information from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on the matter. The BBC has confirmed six of these cases.

Whether or not the employees were allegedly doing so from home or the office is still unclear. Wells Fargo allows a hybrid home-work schedule for staff.

A company spokesperson told Bloomberg, "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior."

Mashable has reached out to Wells Fargo & Co. for comment.

There are many ways to fake being online while working, including the use of gadgets that imitate computer activity, or "mouse jigglers." Mouse jigglers are pretty easy to get; they're selling on Amazon for under £10 right now. They're mechanical devices that physically move your mouse around to prevent your computer from going into sleep mode. TikTokkers have been recommending these devices for years, while folks on Reddit have shared horror stories of being caught by their managers using them.

It's unclear how the company actually figured out staff were allegedly undertaking "simulation of keyboard activity" at all. An increasing number of companies are surveilling employees since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rise of working from home. Some companies have installed keylogger software on their computers to recorded characters typed, and biometric monitoring is on the rise, despite privacy concerns and employee backlash.

A 2021 study by Express VPN found 78 percent of employers engage in remote work surveillance, with 73 percent of employers using email, calls, messages, or videos to inform performance reviews — yes, your boss can read your Gmail drafts (and that's not all) — and 46 percent using it monitor the potential formation of workers' unions.

But as Jack Morse writes for Mashable, "While your boss monitoring your every move is definitely creepy, it's perfectly legal."