Employers need to be careful with job candidates'' personal info

Those applying for new positions are often required to provide their potential employers with information about their background in order to ensure that they are a worthy candidate. And while few would argue that the information required to be given to employers, including, social security numbers, date of birth, and a name, is out of line, what happens when this information gets into the wrong hands? Blake Forrester, writing for Pre-Employ.com, writes that the risks are increased when employers send the data to places outside of the country. "Currently, job candidates’ [personal information] is often sent 'off shore' to labor markets whose standards are lower than those prevailing in the United States, and the aim is to increase the employer’s bottom line," Forrester writes. "When this is done, little thought is given to the notion that handling the personal information in this manner means that these applicants are at great risk of identity theft." The Federal Trade Commission recently laid out rules to help prevent employees from being subject to ID theft. The "Red Flags Rule" was created to ensure that companies took the threat seriously.