Be aware of the risk when posting your résumé online

Symantec Corp. unveiled a fraud involving hundreds of thousands of people on the Monster.com jobs Web site.  Con artists had filched legitimate user names and passwords from recruiters who search for job candidates on Monster.  With this information hackers gained access into the Monster system grabbing résumés and using information on those documents to craft personalized ‘phishing’ e-mails to job seekers.

Symantec said that a server in Ukraine used in the scheme held 1.6 million entries, but because of duplication those files actually might hold personal information of several hundred thousands people in the market.  Symantec notified Monster.com so it could disable the compromised recruiter accounts.

The advice is that job seekers provide minimal details about themselves on job sites, and then reveal deeper information only for queries that prove to be legitimate.  Limit your exposure to such frauds by reducing the amount of personal information you post on the internet.