Your employment records may not be as safe as you think.

Job applications, personnel records and other employment data that should be filed safely away is being taken by identity thieves and used to open credit accounts, apply for jobs and, in some cases, commit crimes.

As the incidents of this particular type of identity theft increase, federal agencies are trying to increase awareness among consumers and employers. Many companies provide little protection of this information, and victims rights groups are lobbying state legislatures to pass laws protecting employee records.

“You can’t really protect yourself,” said Martha Steimel, president of Victim’s Assistance of America. “Anybody who has access to employee files can turn you into a victim. You can be totally mutilated financially by an identity theft perpetrator. It’s scary.”

In a recently released report, the Federal Trade Commission said the top cause of identity fraud is now theft of records from employers or other businesses that have records on many people. About 90 percent of business record thefts involve payroll or employment records, while about 10 percent are customer lists.

There’s not much employees can do to keep their records safe. Social Security numbers, addresses and other data are often kept in paper files or on computers. Anyone who has access to those files, online or otherwise, can steal them. Thieves sometimes take temporary jobs to get into a company so that they can steal information. Others work for third-party vendors who handle corporate credit accounts or provide janitorial staff.

Companies who have become more aware of this type of crime are taking steps to protect themselves and their employee information. They are locking up files and keeping audit trails to document who has reviewed sensitive data, and are removing Social Security numbers from identity badges, as well as bringing in third parties to carry out privacy investigations to make sure their records are not vulnerable.

The lack of attention to identity theft risk in the workplace is changing. Some states, like Georgia and Wisconsin, have passed laws requiring employers to destroy documents containing personal employee data. California has passed legislation barring private firms from using Social Security numbers as identification numbers.

In recent months, the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop for businesses on safe record keeping, and the agency is working with the industry to develop best practices.

Companies are also starting to revamp policies as workers who’ve been victimized sue employers for negligence. A case in San Diego, Calif., in which employees brought a suit against a pharmaceuticals company after they became victims of identity theft, has become a warning for companies all over the country.

In this case, workers sued for negligence, claiming the company had not taken enough precautions to protect their information. The case was settled outside court.

A former marketing executive, out of work for nearly a year, finds a job posting that seems perfect for him. It’s a job with a leading international insurance broker, and after sending his resume in, he receives an e-mail from the human resources manager, saying the company is interested in him, and that he just needs to submit some information for a background check. So he submits his age, height, weight, Social Security number, bank account number and mother’s maiden name.

But it was all just an elaborate scam designed to steal his identity.

When looking for a job, most people are more than willing to jump through the hoops presented by employers in order to obtain a much-needed job. There are no numbers on how many people fall victim to this type of scam each year, but with the economy being what it is, there are sure to be thousands of victims. There are some things you should be aware of when conducting an online job search.

First, do not give your Social Security number to any prospective employer, regardless of the reasons they give for asking for it. You should not surrender your bank or credit card numbers either.

Carefully review the ad, looking for bad spelling, grammatical errors and awkward sentence structure. This could be a clue that the ad is fraudulent. If you respond to an ad, and receive a response from an individual, that person’s e-mail address should not be a private one. A real human resources employee or manager would use a company-issued address.

Check with the company that supposedly listed the job posting, and make sure it is a legitimate posting, and that the person who is corresponding with you actually is employed by the company.

Last, if a person claiming to be a company representative asks for you to remit a payment of any kind, discontinue the correspondence immediately. No employer would ever have any reason to ask for payment from you during an employment screening process.

You can also check with the Better Business Bureau in order to find out if the company is legitimate, and if there are any grievances filed against it.

While identity thieves are using technology to steal personal and financial information and to use that information for fraud, many consumers, financial institutions and businesses are fighting back by minimizing the use of Social Security numbers in account information and by monitoring and notifying customers of possible fraudulent activity more quickly. While consumers are monitoring their accounts more frequently using technologies such as on-line banking and mobile alerts, consumer education on protection and prevention measures such as keeping anti-virus software up to date will continue to be important as businesses and consumers continue to learn how to prevent identity theft.

Although the latest survey by Javelin Strategy and Research showed that the average cost to consumers of identity fraud cases fell in 2009, what consumers really want to know is how to prevent identity theft in the first place.

There are some things that one can do. The fact is, increased vigilance by consumers, businesses and government agencies already appear to be having an impact on the identity theft problem. Many organizations, especially banks and financial institutions have started offering fraud monitoring services, which can sometimes detect account access and payment anomalies, as well as dispute resolution and identity theft education programs, in most cases offering these services free to customers. Mobile banking solutions allow account monitoring, alerting customers in near-real-time of account activity and possible fraud. These partnerships and increased activism on the behalf of consumers resulted in consumer out of pocket costs dropping to an all-time low of $373 in 2009.

How to prevent identity theft? The Javelin study outlines some of the areas where individuals can focus on how to prevent identity theft in the first place.

Whenever possible, protect sensitive information contained on paper documents. Eliminate as many paper statements as possible by requesting electronic statements; Use post office boxes to mail payments rather than placing mail containing checks in an unlocked mailbox; Secure all documents containing personal information such as social security numbers or account numbers in a locked storage box, and purchase and use a paper shredder.

Install anti-virus software on your computer and keep it updated. Be sure to password protect any files that contain personal and financial records using unique or hard-to-guess passwords. Don’t ever give out personal or account information on-line or over the phone, and don’t publish your personal information on social networking sites such as FaceBook.

Check your bank and credit card activity periodically for transactions you don’t recognize or remember – and sign up for alerts whenever possible. The javelin study found that 43 percent of all reported identity fraud cases were spotted by consumers self-monitoring their accounts and those who use more timely electronic methods to detect fraud experience lower average out-of-pocket costs.

Utilize an identity theft protection service to help detect the fraudulent establishment of new accounts in your name. Identity thieves are increasingly using stolen information to open new credit card accounts, on-line and e-mail payment accounts and cell-phone accounts.

In November 2009, Javelin conducted telephone interviews with more than 5,000 U.S. consumers to identify and track the methods used by criminals and the impact of identity theft on American consumers and businesses. Almost 4,800 U.S. adults, including 487 victims of identity theft, were surveyed via a 50-question phone interview to gain insight into this crime, its effects on its victims, and how the survey findings can help consumers most effectively avoid becoming victims of identity theft.

In addition to providing a detailed picture of the crime of identity theft in the U.S. for 2009, the survey reinforced the idea that consumers can learn how to prevent identity theft and play a key role in detecting and resolving identity fraud committed against them. The report found that more consumers are pursuing legal action, with nearly 50 percent of all victims filing police reports. Increased consumer awareness of how to prevent identity theft has empowered consumers to fight back, leading to more arrests, prosecutions and convictions. More consumers than ever before are actively monitoring their credit and financial accounts for suspicious activity and fraud and are acting faster when identity theft is detected.

With more than 150 million visitors each day, Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet today. It’s popular because it’s fun – you can go there and chat with friends, connect with old friends and search for new friends.

But with all that popularity and fun comes the opportunity for thieves to find a way to scam people out of their personal information.

But how does it work? Scammers will ask to be added to your profile as your friend, and then they watch your activity and search your information to get what they need.

If a thief believes he’s earned your trust, he will begin sending you scam e-mails, with such tactics as:

• Friend in distress: The worst has happened and I need money fast.
• Phishing: You receive an e-mail that has a virus attached that will allow a hacker to access your Facebook account and obtain your personal information.
• Viral Wall: You receive an e-mail that has a virus attached that allows your friend to not only access your personal information, but the information of your friends when you communicate with them via your wall.

Hackers have even gained access to Facebook user pages and, claiming to be the person depicted in the profile, asked friends for financial help because of a “crisis.” Once the person responds, believing his or her friend to be in need, the thief will request that money be wired to a given address.

Scammers also have recently baited Facebook users with a gift card, which duped 40,000 Facebook users. The scam worked like this: the thieves marketed a free Ikea $1,000 gift card via a fake fan page. The same idea has also been used for Whole Foods, Target, iTunes and Wal-Mart cards. To get the cards, a user must enter a name, address and e-mail address. They are then pointed to another page that offers products and services, with the option to enter credit card details if the offers appeal to them.

The solution? Simple. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know. Don’t open e-mails if you aren’t sure where they came from. And last, don’t give enter your personal information on any site that isn’t secure. You can check this by checking the URL for “https” rather an “http.”

In November 2009, Javelin conducted telephone interviews with more than 5,000 U.S. consumers to identify and track the methods used by criminals and the impact of identity theft on American consumers and businesses. Almost 4,800 U.S. adults were surveyed.

The survey reinforced the idea that consumers can learn ways to prevent identity theft and play a key role in detecting and resolving identity fraud committed against them. The report found that more consumers are pursuing legal action, with nearly 50 percent of all victims filing police reports. Increased consumer awareness of ways to prevent identity theft has empowered consumers to fight back, leading to more arrests, prosecutions and convictions. More consumers than ever before are actively monitoring their credit and financial accounts for suspicious activity and fraud and are acting faster when identity theft is detected.

Although the latest survey by Javelin Strategy and Research showed that the average cost to consumers of identity fraud cases fell in 2009, what consumers really want to know are some of the ways to prevent identity theft in the first place. The study reveals that there are ways to prevent identity theft. Increased vigilance by consumers, businesses and government agencies already appear to be having an impact on the identity theft problem. Many organizations, especially banks and financial institutions have started offering fraud monitoring services, which can sometimes detect account access and payment anomalies, as well as dispute resolution and identity theft education programs, in most cases offering these services free to customers. Mobile banking solutions allow account monitoring, alerting customers in near-real-time of account activity and possible fraud. These partnerships and increased activism on the behalf of consumers resulted in consumer out of pocket costs dropping to an all-time low of $373 in 2009.

- Eliminate as many paper statements as possible by requesting electronic statements
- Use post office boxes to mail payments rather than placing mail containing checks in an unlocked mailbox
- Secure all documents containing personal information such as social security numbers or account numbers in a locked storage box
- Purchase and use a paper shredder.
- Install anti-virus software on your computer and keep it updated
- Be sure to password protect any files that contain personal and financial records using unique or hard-to-guess passwords
- Don’t ever give out personal or account information on-line or over the phone
- Don’t publish your personal information on social networking sites such as Facebook.
- Check your bank and credit card activity periodically for transactions you don’t recognize or remember – and sign up for alerts whenever possible.
- Utilize an identity theft protection service to help detect the fraudulent establishment of new accounts in your name. Identity thieves are increasingly using stolen information to open new credit card accounts, on-line and e-mail payment accounts and cell-phone accounts.

If you’ve received a confirmation in the mail of your change of address – and you haven’t moved – consider it a tip that you’ve become a victim of identity theft.

This type of scam is becoming more and more common, and it’s easy to do. Scammers first obtain a change of address form from a local post office. Then, using information as simple as mail they’ve swiped from your mailbox or the phone book, they submit a change of address. Soon, all your mail comes to the thief, giving him all the information he needs to steal your identity and ruin your credit.

But the U.S. Postal Service does sort of help you out in this circumstance. When a change of address is submitted, the USPS sends a verification letter to both the old address and the new one. The letter will instruct you to contact the post office if the change is inappropriate. If you receive such a letter and you didn’t request a change of address, contact the post office immediately, The local postmaster will forward your mail if you don’t tell him or her to do otherwise.

This scam has happened all over the country, but there have been a multitude of cases reported in New Mexico and Texas.

Some tips to remember:

- If you receive mail at your home, pay attention if you don’t get any mail for more than a couple of days, even if other people at your home are getting mail. A change of address does not necessarily redirect mail for everyone at a particular address.

- Consider mailing your letters and bills from a secure public mailbox or at the post office, rather than from your home mailbox.

- Pick up your mail as soon as possible after it arrives at your mailbox. Don’t leave it sitting in the box overnight.

- Consider purchasing a locking mailbox.

Synthetic identity theft is fraud that is committed using a completely fabricated identity, as opposed to a stolen one. It’s widely regarded as one of the most prevalent forms of identity theft.

In this particular type of identity theft, the perpetrators literally create new identities, either by combining real information with fake information to establish new accounts with fictional identities, or by creating a new identity from completely fake information. Typically the thieves use a real Social Security number and combine it with a name other than the one associated with the number. The combination doesn’t often show up on the consumer’s credit report.

While there are no reliable figures documenting losses from synthetic identity theft, some experts estimate that these schemes constitute at least 20 percent of credit charge-offs, and 80 percent of losses from credit card fraud.

Synthetic identity theft is elusive because the individuals whose information was used may never become aware of the crime, and those who do rarely report it to law enforcement agencies because the combination of the name, address and Social Security number in the particular incident doesn’t correspond to one particular consumer.

In this type of theft, creditors are the hardest hit, but consumers are affected in three ways:

• Consumers partially pay for it. Creditors may bear the brunt of it, but they do often pass on this cost to consumers.

• Debt collectors could come after innocent consumers based on the use of Social Security numbers. Creditors could ignore the fictitious name and pursue the real individual attached to the number. Collection agencies have the capability to perform “Social (Security) searches” on numbers to find current addresses on delinquent debtors.

• Synthetic ID fraud creates file variations at the credit bureaus. This means that any information in another credit file, good or bad, can be linked to a consumer’s file.

How can you avoid becoming a victim? Check your credit report. Look for accounts that don’t belong to you. You’ll also want to check your mailbox, and look out for suspicious mail, such as change-of-address notices and credit offers with significant variations of your name.

Make sure to monitor your Social Security number. You can use services that look for illegal activity on your personal information, but pay special attention to monitoring just your number, so that you are notified of any suspicious activity using your number.