When managing attendance, accuracy and reliability of time tracking are essential. Factorial includes a Shift Manipulation Alert system to detect potential inconsistencies in clock-in or clock-out times. In this article, you’ll learn what this alert means, why it appears, and how to manage it.
Overview
The Shift Manipulation Alert, also displayed as “Potential shift tampering detected”, is a security notification triggered when there is a significant difference between the time on a collaborator’s device and the server time during a clock-in or clock-out action.
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If you receive frequent shift manipulation alerts for the same collaborator, ask them to check their device’s time and timezone settings and ensure both “Set time automatically” and “Set timezone automatically” are enabled.
When and why it should be used
The alert is automatically triggered by the system whenever a time discrepancy greater than five minutes is detected. It allows managers and HR teams to review and confirm that the recorded shifts accurately reflect the collaborator’s real working hours.
It is especially useful for:
- Detecting device time manipulation (intentional or accidental)
- Identifying timezone or synchronization issues
- Maintaining reliable attendance records for payroll and compliance
How to use
- Receive a notification. Managers will receive a notification titled “Potential shift tampering detected” when the system identifies a discrepancy.
- Review the affected shift. The message includes the employee name and the relevant shift. Click the link or navigate to the Time Tracking → Attendance section to open the shift details.
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Check for potential causes. Look at the collaborator’s device settings or recent activity to determine whether the issue was:
- A device clock change
- Incorrect timezone settings
- A synchronization or network issue
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Decide on next steps
- If the discrepancy was unintentional (e.g., timezone mismatch), you can confirm or correct the shift manually.
- If tampering is suspected, follow your company’s internal review or disciplinary process.
- Prevent future occurrences. Encourage collaborators to enable automatic date and time synchronization on their devices to minimize time discrepancies.
Scenarios that trigger the alert:
- Device clock manipulation - Employee changes their phone/device time before clocking in/out
- Timezone discrepancies - Device is set to incorrect timezone
- Clock synchronization issues - Device time hasn't been synchronized with network time
- Manual time adjustments - User manually adjusted device time settings
Exceptions (when alert won't trigger):
- System-created events (automatic breaks)
- API-generated clock events
- System-generated shifts
- Time differences under 5 minutes
FAQ
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Who receives the Shift Manipulation Alert notifications?
Only managers receive these notifications, allowing them to review the flagged shift and take appropriate action.
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Can system-generated shifts trigger this alert?
No. Automatic breaks, API-generated clock events, or system-generated shifts are excluded from this alert.
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What is the threshold for triggering the alert?
The alert is triggered when the time difference between the device and the server exceeds five minutes.