Job Seekers Targets For Internet Identity Thieves

According to data from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and the U.K. Association for Payment Clearing Services, fraudulent job ads are up 345% over the last three years. Job seekers are being warned about providing personal information to prospective employers on the internet.

Just last night on ABC's 20/20, several internet job scams were exposed. 20/20 reports that 99% of internet job offers are fraudulent, especially if you have to pay money in order to get the job.

"Currently there's a 54-to-1 scam ratio among work-at-home job leads on the Internet," said Staffcentrix co-founder, Christine Durst, who screens up to 5,000 online job offers every week and rates them on her Web site. "That means that for every 55 [work-at-home] job leads that you find on the Internet, 54 of them are going to be outright scams or downright suspicious."

The ITRC offers seven tips to help job seekers avoid being scammed:

• Protect your Social Security number. Don't put it on your resumé and only provide it to a company when you're convinced you're a serious prospect for a legitimate job.

• Consider creating an e-mail account specifically for your job search. This can help limit possible damage from spam, phishing, and other e-mail scams.

• Look into companies that place job ads by researching them with the Better Business Bureau or through a state database. Anyone can create a Web site.

• Avoid any Web site that asks you to preregister using your Social Security number, home address, or driver's license number. You should also be suspicious of sites that ask for payment to view job listings.

• Make sure your computer security software and settings are up to date before sending out resumés and job-related e-mail. Phishers and scammers look for job seekers to bait with fake job offers because they're receptive opening messages and clicking on links.

• Make sure your contact at a company actually works there and watch for signs that something isn't right, like an e-mail address that's inconsistent with the company's Web site address.

• Be wary of common job scams. Jobs that require you to cash checks for a company or open a bank account, known as "money mule scams," could leave you open to charges of money laundering.

Nearly 600,000 Americans lost their jobs in January, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and 2-3 million more jobs are projected to be lost over the coming year. It's no wonder con artists are posting bogus work-at-home job leads at an unprecedented rate.