NCPW: Job Hunters At Risk

Avoid Becoming a Target

March 2010
More than 8 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.

But one line of work that’s gaining momentum is fraud—and with more people out of work, job seekers are a hot target.

Identity thieves have different methods for stealing personal information. They may pose as a company or individual offering a job, with the hope of getting sensitive information from prospects.  They could obtain Social Security numbers (SSN) that appear on resumes, such as those listed in online job databases (this information should never be on a resume in the first place).

Last year, the popular job search site Monster.com had a serious data breach. Stolen data included user IDs and passwords, e-mail addresses, names, phone numbers. The breach prompted concerns about scammers using the information to send out targeted “phishing” e-mails purporting to come from the job search site, requesting confirmation of usernames or passwords, or asking the recipient to download software, tools or other files.

To be safe, keep sensitive information off resumes. If employers request government identifiers—a SSN, birth date, driver’s license or taxpayer ID number—provide it during a formal, face-to-face interview rather than up front on paper.

Take care to confirm that companies and individuals offering jobs are legitimate.  If anyone calls or e-mails with a request for a SSN, follow these steps:

• Look up the company’s contact information and contact its human resources department.
• Determine the request to be legitimate.
• Confirm company’s legitimacy with The Better Business Bureau and state or federal Attorneys General offices.

Legitimate businesses will typically e-mail you from addresses that include their organizational domain name. E-mails from a third-party e-mail provider may be a red flag. Likewise, try to confirm their validity of fax and telephone numbers provided by potential employers—if the area codes of their various lines don’t match, this too could be a sign of a possible scam.

For more information, check out the Identity Theft Resource Center’s “Fact Sheet” on job-related scams and this Better Business Bureau advisory on fraud targeting job hunters.

IdentityTheft911.org joins a group of federal, state, and local government agencies and national consumer organizations to launch the 12th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 7-13, 2010.

NCPW 2010 — Dollars and Sense: Rated A for All Ages — highlights the importance of using good consumer sense at every stage of life – from grade school to retirement. The purpose of NCPW is to promote free resources to help people protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams. 

IdentityTheft911.org will publish an article every day this week dedicated to heightening consumer awareness surrounding the more pressing identity theft issues at various life stages.

Visit Identity Theft 911’s resource center and www.consumer.gov/ncpw for more consumer tips.