Your Online Resume Fertile Ground for Identity Thieves in New Scam - 3,807 Views, 5 Comments
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Job seekers the world over know that the best places to post your resume are at online job sites like Monster.com, HotJobs.com, and SimplyHired.com, to name a few. Between even just these three sites alone, there are hundreds of thousands of resumes posted online, available for all to search and read. Let’s back up a moment. “Available for all to search and read.” All. Oh sure, on some job sites you have to pay a fee to search the resumes, but that’s chump change for employers. Or identity thieves. That’s right. The newest identity theft scam is perhaps one of the most obvious: scammers search online resumes for the information they need to steal your identity. It’s all right there. Your name, your address, your telephone number, your educational background and your job history. And if they are very lucky, your age or date of birth, and if they are very very lucky, your social security number. And identity thieves don’t just steal your identity information in order to run up your credit. They often will actually assume your identity in order to get a job, or even start a new life. Explains David Barton, an attorney and identity theft expert in Arizona, where identity theft is a major problem, “What identity thieves are after is a profile, and a profile includes a home address, your birth date and your Social Security number. We have so many employees working out there with false credentials.” The first step to combat this, obviously, is not to include such private information in your online resume. “Applicants should consider using a two-tiered approach so that they decide when to provide more information after their somewhat sanitized résumé has piqued an employer prospect’s attention,” advises John Flynn, another attorney specializing in the area. “Everyone must be cautious and spend the time to craft a different sanitized, but still equally impressive résumé, that will get someone’s attention.” But care in crafting your resume isn’t enough to ward off all would-be scammers. In a twist on the old Nigerian 419 scam, MSNBC reports, scammers are contacting job-seekers through online job sites, and luring them into check-cashing scams. Recently, for example, scammers claiming to represent a fictitious company in Europe contacted online job seekers, and asked them to help get their company’s operations up and running in the United States. The scammers then sent forged checks which appeared to be issued by the state of Arkansas to their victims, and had them cash the checks and wire the money back to the scammer so that it could be used for getting the company’s “U.S. operations” going. Of course, the only U.S. operation was the fleecing of the scammer’s target. Do you have a resume posted somewhere online? If so, what are you going to do when you’re done reading this? Now.
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Your Online Resume Fertile Ground for Identity Thieves in New Scam
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Previous Article « Early Movie DVD Releases Contemplated While MPA Gets Warrant for All of New Delhi
Read Next Article » T-Mobile Provides Free Wifi to Hurricane Katrina’s Victims
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» ChoicePoint Syndrome: Lexis Nexis Hemorrhages Personal Information of Thousands to Identity Thieves
» Thieves Use Bluetooth Phones to Find, Steal Laptops
» Major Piracy, Phishing Arrests Around the World
For additional similar stories check out our archives on Around the World, Identity Theft, Scams
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Very good advice! Scammers are using online job sites to find victims for many scams. It’s more than the Nigerian fee scam — the overpayment scam is at least as popular. For more on what ScamBusters calls “the biggest online scam almost no one knows about,” check out: http://www.scambusters.org/overpayment.html
Comment by Audri Lanford — 8/30/2005 @ 5:08 pm
Well done — Not job hunting myself, but this gets one thinking about all the ways we expose ourselves without realizing it. very helpful.
Comment by joicy — 9/5/2005 @ 5:10 pm
I was contacted last july or so from one of these companies.I was not working and ready to loose my condo,and trying to take care of my 10yr old, saw a way to make some quick money. They contacted me through career builders.com job board. well to make a long story short. I was arrested trying to cash the “cashiers check” I didnt have any clue this was a fake cashiers check. I work for the banks!!!! I didnt look into it deep enough I suppose, but now I am being charged with forgery, possession of a forgery device her in arizona. Im looking at jail time possibly. My career will be gone and reputaion pride and self respect. I didnt make it, I signed it showed my own id and bank card. I need serious help, what can you suggest???
Comment by mindy kerkes — 2/14/2007 @ 9:31 pm
I allso cashed a FAKE CHECK FOR 4800 NOW IM BEING CHARGED WITH THEFT AND FORGERY I GO TO TRIAL IN JANUARY THEY OFFERED ME 10 YEARS IN PRISON BUT I TURNED IT DOWN NOW THEY SAY AT TRIAL THEY WILL GIVE ME 20 YEARS FOR A CHECK THAT WAS SENT TO ME FROM AFRICA I DIDNT KNOW IT WASNT GOOD THE BANK SAID IT WAS WHEN I CASHED IT……….. NOW I REALLY NEED HELP I LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN IN ARKANSAS THEY DONT KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT FAKE CHECKS HERE I HAD TO PUT UP $15.000.00 TO BOND OUT OF JAIL FOR THIS
Comment by michael graham — 10/12/2007 @ 12:32 pm
Indeed,I was supose to sell my computer on a free ad web site.The person sended a 2500$ check and asked me to wire the rest of the cash to another adress.BEWARE!These
people don’t care,they wanna scam you! Nothing is to good in this world.
Comment by Mart — 10/29/2007 @ 7:42 am