Career Blunders: Web Resumes and Identity Theft

Did you know that identity thieves love trash cans, mailboxes, and web resumes too? They dig through your trash and your mailbox, looking for personal information they can use to open credit accounts in your name. And, they use web resumes to glean this same type of information.

Does that mean you shouldn't have a web resume? No; it just means you need to be careful what you put on your web resume. Including your name is perfectly fine, unless it's one that not many people have. Employer's names are fine too, although you should probably not include the name of your current employer, to keep your boss from finding your web resume.

Leave off phone numbers, especially unlisted ones. Don't include your address. You can include a city and state, unless you live in a small town–then it might be wise to use the nearest large city instead. DO NOT include your social security number, date of birth, marital status, number of children, or similar information. Employers don't want to know this information, and you need to protect it from identity theft.

As for your email address, be aware that you're placing it out on the web for all kinds of SPAM organizations to find. Therefore, it's best if you get a free email account at Yahoo.com, Mail.com, or any of the other sites that offer free email accounts. (Avoid Hotmail, as it has a reputation for high SPAM levels.) Most of these accounts can be set to automatically forward your email to your "regular" email account. This tactic protects your "regular" email address from getting on a SPAM list.