It bothers me that scammers and phishers are using jobs to attract information from people these days, but I guess it only makes sense.
Microsoft published this helpful guide last year, emailed to me by my co-recruiter Patrick Wiscombe. I think it may be a little too conservative, but better safe than sorry, I guess.
Best practices for online job hunters
• Never provide any non-work related personal information such as your social security number, credit card number, date of birth, home address, and marital status online, through e-mail, over the phone, in a fax, or on your resume.
• List your resume on a job site that allows only verified recruiters to scan them and uses a privacy policy.• Verify a prospective employer, recruiter, or recruiting agency through another source such as the Better Business Bureau or a phone book, and then contact them directly-or better yet, visit them in person at the company location during regular work hours.
• If a prospective recruiter or employer requests a background check, agree to do so only after you have met with them at their company location during regular work hours.
• Beware of anyone who asks you for money up front in exchange for finding work for you. You should never have to pay for "exclusive" job leads or for a job itself.
• If you are paying for job placement services, don't provide credit card or bank information or engage in any monetary transactions unless done in person, onsite, with a prospective recruiter or job agency.
• Carefully evaluate contact information in job ads or related e-mails, watching out for spelling errors, an e-mail address that does not feature the company's name, and inconsistencies with area or zip codes. For more tips on spotting phishing scams, see How can I tell if an e-mail message is fraudulent?
• Enter Web site addresses (URLs) into your browser instead of using links when checking out job sources, and be mindful of a new form of deception similar to phishing called "pharming," which involves redirecting users from legitimate Web sites to phony replicas with the intention of stealing personal information.
• Create an exclusive Web-based e-mail address and account for all non-personal communication.
• Although there aren’t any foolproof methods for spotting bogus job ads, look for multiple misspellings and other inconsistencies, which are common indicators.
• Trust your instincts and be especially cautious when dealing with contacts outside your own country. If an opportunity promises too much or something else doesn't seem right, chances are it's a scam.
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