# Identity theft to get a job **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670 "2018-08-15T17:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/1 "2018-08-15T17:36:58Z")
Recently I’ve heard of cases where someone interviews for a job via phone or Skype and then someone else shows up to try and work . This normally is caught right away. Anyone else run into this? I wonder if this is just starting now or has been around a while. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/2 "2018-08-15T18:29:57Z")
It’s been around for a while. I can think of a couple cases I was involved in directly or indirectly 5-10 years ago. It’s always been a fringe case situation though. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/3 "2018-08-15T18:35:32Z")
On the other hand, fake resumes have been around forever. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/4 "2018-08-15T19:38:22Z")
I did background checks for a while. I once came across a guy who was using the Social Security Number of a lady who had retired a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/5 "2018-08-15T19:52:53Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I did background checks for a while. I once came across a guy who was using the Social Security Number of a lady who had retired a few years earlier. was the guy foreign? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/6 "2018-08-15T20:27:15Z")
Since the OP is asking for personal experiences, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/7 "2018-08-15T22:22:44Z")
If someone stole my identity for the purpose of securing employment, the joke would be on them! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/8 "2018-08-15T23:01:51Z")
Doesn’t sound so much like stealing an identity for the purpose of getting a job, so much as having someone pretend to be you for an interview because you think you don’t present yourself well enough in an interview. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/9 "2018-08-16T01:02:02Z")
Not quite the same, but I’ve heard a tale of co-workers cobbling together a job application (elsewhere) for someone they didn’t want to work with any more. They made sure all the information was true, although if the application required a signature, that would have been fraudulent. The story is that it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identity-theft-to-get-a-job/819670/10 "2018-08-16T02:10:02Z")
Taxi drivers. So I’m sitting in the front seat of the taxi (Melb. Aus), where the driver hasn’t displayed his photo ID, thinking "I don’t think this driver has passed the taxi driver test… actually, I don’t think this driver has passed the road driving test … " It’s the turning down the wrong side of the road that gives you a clue.