You'd be flabbergasted to learn how many candidates just blatantly lie on their resume. I don't mean pretending to know Scala, I'm talking _years_ of vapor-experience at fake companies. And these people get hired all the time.
How do they get away with it? Most companies I’ve applied to run background checks and ask for references. The last one I was at refused to send an offer letter until my previous employer answered their calls.
You pay your friends or a third party to LARP as a company/manager/whoever. An LLC is cheap to open and sliding your buddy a $20 for a 15 minute phone call is a no-brainer. I am not condoning this nor am I speaking from personal experience, but this is absolutely a real thing that happens a lot more than you might like to believe.