UNEMPLOYED people and other job-seekers are being targeted by scamsters advertising fake jobs in apparent efforts to use their personal information to commit identity theft or fraud.
Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes said his office had received complaints from people who had applied for jobs that turned out not to exist, but only after they had supplied the would-be “employer” with their personal details via e-mail.
Mr Hawkes said yesterday he was “very concerned that in the current economic climate criminals are trying to take advantage of job applicants”.
While there were just three complaints to the commissioner’s office, they came in quick succession in recent days, and the office is concerned the real number of such scams may be greater.
One of the job scams involved the placement of an advert in an evening newspaper seeking a labourer at Dublin airport.
Those who applied were led to believe they were being offered a job at the generous rate of €19.50 an hour and were then asked to supply details for “Garda vetting”.
After the applicant had sent personal details by e-mail, the job turned out not to exist.
Fax numbers and other contact details provided in the advert turned out to be bogus.
A second scam involved the specific targeting of individuals involved in the charity sector, seeking applications for a non-existent position at the United Nations in Geneva.
Deputy Data Protection Commissioner and director of investigations Gary Davis said he believed the most likely reason the information was being gathered by the scamsters was for loan or credit card applications.
He believed bank account information was not provided by the individuals.
Mr Davis said a “reputable employer” would never seek such personal information by e-mail, and he urged individuals never to disclose details such as date of birth, mother’s maiden name or PPS number in this way.
The complainants were urged to contact their financial institutions and the Irish Credit Bureau to flag any possible attempt to obtain loans or credit in their names.
Mr Davis confirmed: “We don’t actually know what’s happening to these people’s details at the minute.”
A Garda spokesman confirmed the force had liaised with the Data Protection Commissioner’s office in relation to identity theft generally. However, he said the Garda role in such cases was at the point where the personal details obtained were actually used to commit crime.