As if it isn't bad enough to be laid off and scrambling to find a new job, identity thieves are making life more miserable for unsuspecting job-seekers. From fake job-search services to bogus help-wanted ads, identity thieves are targeting recently unemployed workers in Los Angeles, California and across the country with attempts to steal and use personal information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, job-search fraud is one of the fastest-growing aspects of identity theft in America.
"There are so many people out there who are desperate to find a job," Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit San Diego watchdog group, told reporter Richard Burnett of The Orlando Sentinel. "Unfortunately, identity thieves are taking advantage of people in these uncertain times."
Luring job seekers with promises of assistance from employment agencies, resume postings on career sites and want ads, identity thieves require job hunters to post personal information and social security numbers to take advantage of offers. Bogus sites mimic legitimate service providers and even some government sites, lulling job seekers into a false sense of security. The majority of job-search fraud is tied to false help-wanted ads which have quadrupled in the past three years, warns Foley. Thieves use culled personal information to wreak financial havoc, destroy their victims' credit, open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, loans, cell phones and utility services.
In California, "identity theft is fraud," warns expert Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. "Falsely posing as another person is a criminal act and carries serious penalties." Identity thieves illegally obtain and use another person's personal information "to commit fraud and other illegal activities," Rodriguez explained. Common types of identity theft include internet identity theft, credit card identity theft, computer identity theft, bank identity theft, social security identity theft and credit union identity theft.
The fastest growing crime in the U.S., ID theft affects millions of Americans every year and costs the FBI an average $15,000 per case to investigate. To be convicted of identity theft in California, the prosecutor must prove that the information was obtained willfully and without authorization and that it was used unlawfully. Victims of identity theft should immediately contact their local law enforcement agency; however, if you are accused or charged with identity theft, contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers at the law offices of Rodriguez, Lewis & Kahn immediately.
