You may have heard of employment scams involving fake job posts on LinkedIn or jobs that are sent through a cryptic text message. These scams are intended to extract your personal identifiable information and can lead to identity theft.
But there’s another form of employment fraud you may be less familiar with: employment identity theft. This is when your personal data is used by someone else to get a job without your knowledge.
This scam may seem harmless. But there are some negative ramifications attached to a thief lining their own pockets in your name.
Read more: We Can’t Stop Falling for These Identity Theft Scams
What is employment identity theft?
Employment identity theft is a scam where your Social Security number is used by someone else to land a job.
This can happen for multiple reasons. The identity thief may be struggling to find employment due to their criminal history, employment history or lack of job skills.
You may not know that you’re a victim of employment identity theft, but there are signs. You might receive a W-2 or 1099 tax form from an employer you don’t recognize. Sometimes, the IRS alerts you via a notice in the mail if they believe you’re a victim.
This scam is more common than you think. There were 31,207 cases of employment identity theft or wage-related fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2023, up 18% from the year prior.
How does employment identity theft harm me?
It might be unsettling to think about someone using your personal data to get a job, but can it really harm you?
Yes — this scam could lead to other financial and identity theft-related consequences, according to experts.
Difficulty paying taxes
If someone gets a job in your name and the employer reports their earnings to the IRS, the agency may hold you responsible for paying taxes on those wages. If you’re owed a refund, you may even have problems filing your own taxes if the scammer uses your SSN to file your tax return first.
The good news is, it’s generally easy to prove employment fraud, according to Nance Schick, an employment lawyer and founder of Third Ear Conflict Resolution.
For instance, she says, the employer’s IT department may be able to determine that their “employee” was located in a different state or city than the one you call home.
“There should be some sort of electronic paper trail that led to an agreement to perform the services and resulted in what I assume was an electronic payment,” Schick adds.
Read more: Don’t Get Scammed When Filing Your Taxes
Your professional reputation could be at risk
Employment identity theft can also harm your professional reputation, according to Justin Marcus, co-founder and CEO of recruitment and staffing firm Big 4 Talent, Inc.
“If a candidate applies for a job and has a background check done after an offer, and [the background check] reveals that they had four jobs in the last two years, of which only one was theirs, that could raise serious challenges,” Marcus says.
This could hurt your chances of getting a new job since prospective employers may view you as someone who changes jobs often. So, if you ever are a victim of employment identity theft, Marcus warns, you should let your future employers know ahead of the background check.
You’ll have to spend time recovering your identity
In order to undo the damage done by the identity thief, you’re going to have to make a lot of phone calls and write a lot of emails, which is time-consuming. However, if you have identity theft protection and your service offers white glove restoration, then they may take on a lot of this grunt work for you.
To report employment identity theft, contact the IRS, the Social Security Administration fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271 and the FTC at identitytheft.gov.
If you feel the damage done to you was considerable, and that the employer did a lackluster job with its background check and hiring practices, you may even want to consult an attorney.
“It’s possible that an individual would have grounds to file a lawsuit against a company that hires an identity thief,” Schick says.
The ID thief may open lines of credit in your name
If somebody can get hired for a job in your name, they may also be able to open a credit card or loan, and rack up debt in your name and leave you with the bill.
You can contact the three major credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Equifax and Experian) and ask them to place a credit freeze or fraud alert on your accounts. That way, no one can take out a loan in your name.
Read more: Have Scammers Opened a Bank Account in Your Name? Here’s How to Check
How can you stop employment ID theft?
The best way to stop employment identity theft is by taking necessary precautions to keep your personal information, especially your SSN, safe.
That means taking these usual steps:
- Don’t give out your personal information, especially your social security number, freely.
- Use antivirus software on all of your devices.
- Shred personal documents.
- Use a password manager or create unique passwords for your online accounts.
- Use two-factor authentication.
If you’ve already been the victim of employment identity theft, consider locking your SSN by creating an E-Verify account to prevent it from happening again. Locks last for one year, but can be extended. Alternatively, you can unlock your SSN if you need to apply for a new job.
You can also create an identity protection pin with the IRS to prevent someone else from filing a tax return with your SSN or individual taxpayer identification number.
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