Fergie's Tech Blog

Security at Job Websites Faulted

Joseph Menn writes in The Los Angeles Times:

In the face of criticism that they provided fertile ground for Web predators, online job sites have responded by posting warnings about work-at-home schemes and positions forwarding money or potentially stolen goods.

But they have failed to adopt straightforward reforms that could have prevented the rampant fraud that recently swept Monster.com, security experts say. Two of the recommended safeguards: more rigorous background checks to certify that employers are legitimate and identity authentication methods that make it harder for hackers to access the database.

"They should read the job descriptions and ask themselves if they sound like legal jobs -- that's the least they could do," said Elisa Felix, a San Diego communications worker who responded to a 2005 ad by "Heinkel Intersales" and wound up in a scam funneling stolen money abroad. "I had a trust in CareerBuilder that they would only post a legitimate job."

posted by Fergie @ 9/11/2007 12:45:00 PM