Web opens job search, hacking

CHICAGO, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Online resume-posting has provided U.S. job seekers with more than they'd imagine -- telemarketing calls based on the information in their resumes.

The misuse of resume data has become a major issue for fast-growing job-search sites and individuals who post their resumes as hackers target databases of personal information, The Boston Globe reported Monday.

"It's been a big problem for years," said Susan P. Joyce in Marlborough, editor of job-hunt.org, a compilation of employment links and leads. "People are so trusting of something that calls itself a job board, because they're looking for a job and their shields are down."

The popularity of recruitment Web sites blossomed during the past few years. CareerBuilder.com, based in Chicago, reported 15.4 million unique users during August, just behind its biggest rival, Monster.com. Smaller competitors such as Yahoo! Inc.'s HotJobs.com also are growing quickly.

The sites have become targets for identity thieves and scam artists. Symantec Corp., a California data security company, posted on its site the records compromised are "a spammer's dream," the Globe reported.