Beware of online identity theft while searching and applying for a job. Even the government has recently issued warnings regarding criminals taking advantage of vulnerable job seekers during these high rate unemployment periods. There have been recent reports of criminals posing as potential employers and requesting more personal information from candidates such as social security number and date of birth leading to job seeker identity theft. Many people fall victim to this scam because they think the request is legitimate, and the information is needed for a background check or other hiring requirement. Instead, the information is used to open credit card accounts and lines of credit in the victims’ name.
There are many reasons why online identity theft is on the rise as it relates to individuals searching for a job but the primary reasons are:
1- There are more people looking for a job now than any time in our recent history. The increased number of people looking for jobs online creates a river full of salmon for the hungry bears to enjoy.
2- You have to remember that many people also resort to identity fraud out of necessity because of a bad economy. As such, there are more criminals out there looking to make some money with other people’s good credit. The other thing to remember is that as the number of foreclosures and debt repayment delinquencies went up, people started to lose their good credit and are forced to resort to identity theft to get their hands on hard cash.
3- Job seekers are less careful about and concerned with protecting their identities than finding a job at any cost.
4- Lastly, criminals know how vulnerable job seekers are and look for easy prays online.
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