Last 5 of your SSN when applying

Jasiono

I just got a call from a recruiter in CA and he states that there is an opportunity in PA for Verizon. I read the description and all and he mentioned that if I want to apply I need to email my most up to date resume and last 5 numbers of my SSN. I've never heard of an employer needing the last 5 numbers, or any numbers for that matter (unless it's a government job) of my SSN.

MSP-IT

I would be careful with that. With enough personal information they would be able to guess your whole social security number.

Social Security History

networker050184

I've been through this many times with recruiters and was told it's how the company track applicants. One recruiter actually told me just to give him my social with a number or two changed. If I get hired just say it was a typo.

goldenlight

Wow !! With all the scams going on, I would have to pass on this. I can pretend to be a recruiter

goldenlight

networker050184 wrote: »

I've been through this many times with recruiters and was told it's how the company track applicants. One recruiter actually told me just to give him my social with a number or two changed. If I get hired just say it was a typo.

like the idea, but what if you guess someone true SSN by accident..

Qord

I've heard of the last 4 being asked, but the last 5? That's just silly, it's not even a natural grouping. Makes my OCD very angry.

MiikeB

A quick look at his email and the domain it is on, maybe a whois search, would tell me pretty quickly if I was comfortable enough to give him that.

Is it unusual? Yes, but it doesn't SCREAM identity theft. I think in these situations you just have to do your due diligence and then go with your gut. On one hand identity theft is a real thing to think about but on the other a lot of companies ask for a lot of weird things and you don't want hesitation and reluctance to cost you a job.

Jasiono

Ill tell him that im not comfortable with giving any portion of my ssn via email or phone. If they want me they will pursue. They can use my last 5 of my phone number

boobobobobob

I have never been asked for my SSN... i find it really weird..

About7Narwhal

I would offer a drivers license number instead. It belongs only to you and can be tracked. But I wouldn't give an ssn over email, most certainly if I didn't know who was on the other side.

Jasiono

I'm emailing him and telling him I will not hand any of this sensitive data over until I set foot into an interview and I am hired. He seems to suck at grammar in his emails and he was a big pushover. It first started at $22 an hour and I told him I needed at least 30 since there are no benefits and it's a contract to hire. He didn't hesitate to give me that rate.

Jasiono

Screw it. I don't trust him. He was all GANG HO in the beginning and now that I asked him why he needs this information he's not replying.

Jasiono

He told me to give him 5 fake numbers and my DOB and that they use it to make a unique applicant ID. He just told me to remember it

Qord

The more I think about it, the worse I think it is. The first three digits are known point of origin, like the state or official that issued the number, and the rest are sequential. If they know where you were born (a little monitoring on facebook could get this in minutes) and they get your last 5, all they need is one more to complete the set. That's a guaranteed 1 in 10. If they've got your name and birth date (thanks again social networking!) they've got everything they need to get a credit card. No good.

wes allen

Your SSN is probably already out there already, along with dob, etc. Giving out your SSN isn't the problem - it's that the system for opening accounts based on such publicly available info is really, really bad.

Jasiono

Good thing I wasn't born in the USA

Qord wrote: »

The more I think about it, the worse I think it is. The first three digits are known point of origin, like the state or official that issued the number, and the rest are sequential. If they know where you were born (a little monitoring on facebook could get this in minutes) and they get your last 5, all they need is one more to complete the set. That's a guaranteed 1 in 10. If they've got your name and birth date (thanks again social networking!) they've got everything they need to get a credit card. No good.

ptilsen

This can be legit, but there are few situations in which I wouldn't refuse. An Indian recruiter asked me for this for a position at Target I applied for. Once he asked, I Googled around and figured out the position was not at the HQ and was a bit too far, so I simply stopped responding to him. Never gave him the digits. I was shocked when I still got asked for an interview a few weeks later.

What I took from that is I won't provide it any of SSN unless I've been hired or it's my dream job and I know the recruiter/HR is legit. I'm just never gonna be that desperate to start giving out SSN digits to shady recruiters.

Jasiono

I see where you are coming from. This job is offering me a $30k raise.

ptilsen

Well, I do like the idea of giving him fake numbers, or mixing up a digit or two. I literally cannot fathom a consequence from doing it in this scenario.

sratakhin

Even the last 4 or 5 digits can be used to do a lot of harm. Like, when I call my bank or whatever, what questions do they ask? My name, my birthday (easily found on the Internet if necessary) and... last 4 digits. There may be variations, but you get the idea.

NetworkVeteran

ptilsen wrote: »

This can be legit, but there are few situations in which I wouldn't refuse. What I took from that is I won't provide it any of SSN unless I've been hired or it's my dream job and I know the recruiter/HR is legit. I'm just never gonna be that desperate to start giving out SSN digits to shady recruiters.

Same here. While it's not top secret--neither is my mother's maiden name or my elementary school--I would as a rule not share my SSN or other sensitive information with a random stranger or recruiter.