Identity Theft and Online Resumes Go Hand-in -Hand

Some online job offers can be very enticing, especially if the offer is close to what you have been searching for. So you take the time to look the job over, and fill out an application. But now they respond back saying they need a credit history report. Sometimes they will even give you the name of a company that they say they use on a regular basis to screen employees. This often happens even in labor jobs, warehouse positions, the building trades, etc. Why would you need a credit history report for a construction or warehouse job?

Some of the job offers are not even real jobs. They are just trying to gather personal information from the unsuspecting public. Once you pay a small fee for the report, they have all your personal information, plus your credit card info. Now they can do whatever they want with this information, including sell it to associates that can bill you for things you never signed up for.

One of the tricks is to charge you just $1.99 for the report, but the fine print says they will continue to check your credit. history on a monthly basis for $24.99 per month, which is automatically deducted from your credit or debit card. Canceling these charges or getting refunds is almost impossible. See more information about credit history reports in this Associated Content article.

A big hazard to submitting on line resumes to a non-verified potential employer is a serious chance of becoming a victim of identity theft. Once they have all your personal information, and sometimes your account information, the door is wide open for identity theft. If your personal information ends up in the wrong hands you can end up with huge bills that you have no idea of the origins. Good credit ratings can get destroyed instantly, and are extremely difficult to restore back to good standings. Your social security number is a vital tool for these thieves, and giving it out to strangers is asking for trouble.

Here are a things to watch for before you send out your resume:

1) No company name on the job posting

2) Unable to verify physical street address

3) Mis-spelling on ad or website (unprofessional)

4) No contact phone number

5) Has email such as gmail, hotmail, etc (not a real business email)

6) Pay is noticeably higher than the standard for that particular industry
(Pay offered may be $18 per hour when $10-$12 is the norm in that field)

7) If the whole job package just sounds to good to be true, it most likely is a trick

8) Social security number and/or credit check is required

According to this KOAT-ABC article there were 9.9 million cases of identity theft in the United States in 2008, and the numbers were expected to rise significantly in 2009. Poor economy as well as the increasing sophistication of the Internet is fueling this situation. The identity theft numbers for 2009 are not out yet, But I am willing to bet they will be substantially higher than 2008. Please just use caution and a little common sense to protect yourself so that you are not a part of these statistics.

Proceed with caution, and thanks for reading.

Please see two related articles in this online scam series below:

Fake Online Jobs
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2297331/fake_online_jobs_why_and_how_they_do.html?cat=7

Credit/Debit card scams
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2007892/online_scams_protect_yourself_when.html?cat=9