It is really important to exercise caution when applying for jobs and uploading your CV onto recruitment websites. In recent years identity theft has become increasingly common and it has become a serious form of crime.

Fraudsters are becoming ever more creative with their scams. Posting fake job ads is one way that they can find out your personal details. Your CV contains a lot of personal information. Identity thieves can use personal details to get credit cards in your name, borrow money, claim benefits or set up mobile phone contracts in your name.

Therefore it is important to be careful about what information you share on the Internet. For example, if you post your CV on an online website then maybe don’t include your exact address, just the area.

If a company does get in contact be extremely wary if they start asking you for personal information for example your national insurance number or bank details. They should not need this information unless you have been through the interview process and they have formally offered you the job.

When you see a job advert don’t just assume that it is legitimate. First of all check the company; a good starting point is to do a search on google. What comes up? Don’t just look at the first entry but check the first few and see what is written about them.

According to this article in BBC news there are some very sophisticated sites on the web that copy real, well known, websites and pretend to be advertising a job within that company. To avoid being tricked, be vigilant: don’t just follow the link they provide on the job advert but also search for them through a search engine and check that the same website, with the same core address comes up.

Check that the email address that you have been given to apply to links into the company (i.e. email address that ends in @companyname.com) or make sure that the website you are applying through is official.

Another thing to look for is the end of the web address. Government web addresses end in .gov and registered charities should end in .org

If you are unsure about a job advert then exercise caution; do not assume it is legitimate. For further information on how to protect yourself from identity theft visit this website: http://www.identitytheft.org.uk/

Visit this previous post  to see a story about a man who  used a really sly and underhand tactic to help him to get a job.