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Posting a resumé on Monster.com may lead to a new job. It may lead to identity theft, too. The online job site sent an e-warning to job seekers Thursday, saying that the information listed on their resumés may result in identity theft or false job offerings. The email warned that a large number of false listings come from Eastern Europe. The site, which receives more traffic than any other employment hub on the internet, claims that the warning was not “in response to any recent identity theft problem.” Experts, however, say that such schemes have become a growing problem. Using real or fake company names, hoaxers may claim to be doing a background check on potential applicants and ask for social security numbers, credit card numbers or bank account numbers. What with increased security measures after 9/11, many potential employees don’t question the requests. The Privacy Foundation says that such incidents are growing, and the Federal Trade Commission has been advised of the problem. Scammers also garner information off resumés to either sell to spammers or use falsely. Monster currently has more than 1 million resumés listed.
Cornell email: Yep, you're in...oops, you're not
It’s the high school senior’s worst nightmare. You get an acceptance from your dream college, only to discover post-celebration that, oops, they made a mistake. So it went for more than 500 Cornell University hopefuls, who were part of the 1,700 to receive a congratulations email last Wednesday. “Greetings from Cornell, your future alma mater!” the message read. “Congratulations on your acceptance into the class of 2007!” Only problem was, just 1,200 were supposed to get the email. Someone in the admissions office soon noticed that too many messages had been sent. Though they couldn’t call back the erroneous messages, Cornell did send a clarifying message letting 550 of the students know that, actually, they had been rejected.
MLB.com hopes to goose traffic with free audio
Last year’s strike threat didn’t just dim baseball ratings and attendance figures. Traffic to MLB.com, the sports league’s official site, dropped precipitously during the summer. With the strike officially called off and spring training begun, baseball is trying to lure back fans on the net, too. Major League Baseball will stream live audio of roughly 400 spring training games for free on MLB.com, the first time the site has offered such a service. The audio is accessible through the Gameday Audio section of the site, which also carries the schedule for the broadcasts. MLB.com hopes to entice listeners to sign up for its premium service for the regular season. Since 2001, MLB.com has offered home- or away-game feeds for a fee. About 1 million signed up last year.
California auctions off confiscated carry-ons
Had a pair of nail clippers confiscated at the Sacramento airport? You may be able to get them back, for a price, now that cash-strapped California has figured out how to profit from over-zealous security measures. The California Department of General Services will begin auctioning off “dangerous” items taken at the Oakland and Sacramento airports on eBay. Items from state airports in Los Angeles, Ontario and Orange County will soon follow. So far, the state has raised $16,000 by selling pocketknives, scissors, corkscrews and more since November. The best-selling items are also the biggest. General Services officials note that hatchets have sold quite well.
March 3, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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