Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone

Protect Your Privacy When Job-hunting Online

A)Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfullyobtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically foreconomic gain.

B)The numbers associated with identity theft are beginning to add up fast these days. A recent GeneralAccounting Office report estimates that as many as 750,000 Americans are victims of identity theft every year.And that number may be low, as many people choose not to report the crime even if they know they have beenvictimized:

C)Identity theft is "an absolute epidemic", states Robert Ellis Smith, a respected author and advocate of privacy,"It's certainly picked up in the last four or five years. It's worldwide. It affects everybody, and there's very littleyou can do to prevent it and, worst of all, you can't detect it until it's probably too late."

D)Unlike your fingerprints, which are unique to you and cannot be given to someone else for their use, yourpersonal data, especially your social security number, your bank account or credit card number, your telephonecalling card number, and other valuable identifying data, can be used, if they fall into the wrong hands, topersonally profit at your expense. In the United States and Canada, for example, many people have reportedthat unauthorized persons have taken funds out of their bank or financial accounts, or, in the worst cases, taken over their identities altogether, rtmning up vast debts and committing crimes while using the victims' names. Inmany cases, a victim's losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial additionalfinancial costs associated with trying to restore his reputation in the community and correcting erroneousinformation for which the criminal is responsible.

E) According to the FBI, identity theft is the number one fraud committed on the Internet. So how do job seekersprotect themselves while continuing to circulate their resumes online？ The key to a successful online jobsearch is learning to manage the risks. Here are some tips for staying safe while conducting a job search on theInternet.

F)Check for a privacy policy. If you are considering posting your resume online, make sure the job search siteyou are considering has a privacy policy, like CareerBuilder.com. The policy should spell out how yourinformation will be used, stored and whether or not it will be shared. You may want to think twice aboutposting your resume on a site that automatically shares your information with others. You could be openingyourself up to unwanted calls from solicitors (推销员). When reviewing the site's privacy policy, you'll be ableto delete your resume just as easily as you posted it. You won't necessarily want your resume to remain outthere on the Internet once you land a job. Remember, the longer your resume remains posted on a job board,the more exposure, both positive and not-so-positive, it will receive.

G)Take advantages of site features. Lawful job search sites offer levels of privacy protection. Before posting yourresume, carefully consider your job search objectives and the level of risk you are willing to assume.CareerBuilder.com, for example, offers three levels of privacy from which job seekers can choose. The first isstandard posting. This option gives job seekers who post their resumes the most visibility to the broadestemployer audience possible. The second is anonymous(匿名的) posting. This allows job seekers the samevisibility as those in the standard posting category without any of their contact information being displayed.Job seekers who wish to remain anonymous but want to share some other information may choose whichpieces of contact information to display. The third is private posting. This option allows a job seeker to post aresume without having it searched by employers. Private posting allows job seekers to quickly and easily applyfor jobs that appear on CareerBuilder.com without retyping their information.

H)Safeguard your identity. Career experts say that one of the ways job seekers can stay safe while using theIntemet to search out jobs is to conceal their identities. Replace your name on your resume with a generic (泛指的) identifier, such as "Intranet Developer Candidate", or "Experienced Marketing Representative". Youshould also consider eliminating the name and location of your current employer. Depending on your title, itmay not be all that difficult to determine who you are once the name of your company is provided. Use ageneral description of the company such as "Major auto manufacturer," or "international packaged goodssupplier." If your job title is unique, consider using the generic equivalent instead of the exact title assigned byyour employer.

I)Establish an email address for your search. Another way to protect your privacy while seeking employmentonline is to open up an email account specifically for your online job search. This will safeguard your existingemail box in the event someone you don't know gets hold of your email address and shares it with others.Using an email address specifically for your job search also eliminates the possibility that you will receiveunwelcome emails in your primary mailbox. When naming your new email address, be sure that it doesn'tcontain references to your name or other information that will give away your identity. The best solution is anemail address that is relevant to the job you are seeking such as salesmgr2004@provider.com.

J)Protect your references. If your resume contains a section with the names and contact information of yourreferences, take it out. There's no sense in safeguarding your information while sharing private contactinformation of your references.

K)Keep confidential (机密的) information confidential. Do not, under any circumstances, share your social security, driver's license, and bank account numbers or other personal information, such as race or eye color.Honest employers do not need this information with an initial application. Don't provide this even if they saythey need it in order to conduct a background check. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book--don't fallfor it.

46、Those who post their resumes online for a long time will run an increased risk of becoming victims of identity theft.

47、Robert Ellis Smith says that identity theft is spreading around the world and hard to detect beforehand.

48、Victims of identity theft may suffer additional financial losses in order to restore their reputation and correct wrong infbrmation.

49、In the US,750,000 people are estimated to become victims of identity theft each year.

50、It is a safer way to find a job online when you use an email account specifically.

51、One is supposed to learn how to manage the risks if he or she is going to seek jobs online safely.

52、Standard posting allows fullest potential audience to browse through the resumes posted online.

53、Honest employers will not ask their initial job applicants to reveal their social security account, driver's license or bank account numbers.

54、Make sure that your email address will not be named in a way that could let out your personal information.

55、Job seekers are advised to describe the company they are serving right now in a general way instead of giving an exact name.