Identity Protection During a Job Search

Identity Theft: the Nerd Crime
Identity theft is a growing problem. The Identity Theft Resource Center reports that the number of cases of identity theft grew in 2008 by 47% in 2008. All estimates point to that figure growing in 2009.

Adding insult to injury these identity thieves are now targeting people in the job market. Job seekers must take caution. Companies and individuals are using job postings, faux job sites, as well as hacks against job sites as a means to gather data for the purpose of marketing, profiling, phishing attacks and fraud.

Job Sites
While many job sites take steps to protect your identity you are still at risk of identity theft. Your information is only as safe as the weakest link in their security. Many times that means an intern, a temp, or a disgruntled I.T. guy. In 2007 Monster.com was hacked and gave access to 1.6 million users identities, including emails and passwords.

Limit Your Contact Information
The first step in protecting yourself from identity theft during a job search is limiting your contact information. Identity thieves can use your contact information for a variety of unscrupulous reasons, including opening credit accounts in your name, sending you spam and junk mail or soliciting you with scams and erroneous offers.

Unique Email Address
Create an email address specific to your job search. Do not use your primary email address and don't use any email address that is associated with any of your financial accounts. Create a new email address for your job search with a unique password. The idea is that this is a throw-away account that is worthless to identity thieves and scammers. After you land a new job you'll delete the account.

You might be concerned that by changing or deleting your email address you'll miss out on an opportunity down the road. This is a valid concern. As a solution you should add a line to your resume that discloses that you are using a temporary email address for your job search and that your current contact information will always be available via your website or your online profile.

Street Address
The next thing to protect is your physical address. Listing your city and state of residence on your resume should be sufficient. On job sites I would leave the street address fields blank or simply put 'available on request'. This may seem trivial but would you want a potential employer looking up the value of your house on zillow.com or worse learning that it's for sale or in foreclosure? Use caution.

Seven Digits
Your phone number is also something you may want to protect. During a job search you need to be available to take phone calls; so you must list a valid phone number. However you can take steps to protect yourself. Google Voice is a free service that provides you with a unique phone number. It allows you to forward calls to the phone of your choosing and also to view your voice mail like email. There are a number of great security features built in like call blocking and call screening. It's a great alternative to providing your mobile or home phone number on a resume and it's free.

Social Security Number
Probably the worst thing you can give out during your job search is your social security number or drivers license number. Once you are hired your employer will need your social security number to report earnings to the government. However you do not need to provide it until then. Even then don't email it to HR or say it over the phone. Only give it to the appropriate person in person, and take steps to make sure it's secure.

Be Paranoid
During tough times sometimes people use poor judgment. So use caution with any company or job listing that seems suspicious. Legitimate companies act legitimately, usually following a set of predetermined policies. Further anyone requesting an up-front fee is probably trying to scam you. This extends to unethical recruiters, model scouts, employment agencies, and multi-level marketing companies. If a company is requesting an up-front fee then they are making their profits by collecting that fee, and they have little incentive to do anything for you after they take your money. In this case protect your identity and your money.

Who's Following You on Twitter
The last thing I'll mention are social networks like facebook, myspace, linkedin and twitter. Assume that anyone who is interested in hiring you is going to view your page or profile. In this case the identity that you need to protect would be your personal life. It goes without saying that you don't want a flashing weed leaf background on your myspace page. However you might also consider deleting comments that you've made about sensitive social and/or political issues. Remember that employers have biases and opinions that effect their hiring decisions. Err on the side of caution and you can let your flag fly once you have the job.

Use your best judgment and use your discretion during your job search. Protect your identity and be careful who you trust. Be patient and good luck on your job search. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list. Please feel free to add your suggestions below.