Job Scams Are Stealing Personal Information -- These Tools Can Help You Stay Safe

Keep reading Forbes Advisor for the chance to see the answer to your question in one of our upcoming stories. Our editors also may be in touch with follow-up questions. Americans are feeling less confident about finding a job easily, and scams are not helping. Victims of job scams shared an average of four types of personal information per incident, such as their name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and driver's license, the highest of any scam category, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) 2026 Trends in Identity Report. With your personal information, scammers can open fraudulent lines of credit in your name or sell your information online. But there are ways to protect yourself, such as using an identity theft protection service and following other tips. Job Scams Have a Higher Success Rate Job scams are not just happening -- they're succeeding. Across all scams, 21% of victims recognized the scam and didn't share personal information, according to the same ITRC report. Success for job scams has skyrocketed, securing personal information 92% of the time. The report analyzed 9,253 cases in total -- with 2,803 involving identity compromise -- from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. If you've applied for jobs recently, you may have already shared your information with a scammer without realizing it. Be Wary When Applying Scams are no longer limited to fishy phone calls -- they're also infiltrating major platforms to steal your personal information, such as LinkedIn or Indeed. To spot a job scam, the Federal Trade Commission suggests searching for the company name with the keyword "scam" or "complaint.". Others may be posting online about their experience. Freezing your credit can also be a protective measure to keep scammers from opening credit in your name. Why This Matters If you fall victim to a job scam, you could lose money due to scammers opening accounts in your name, and you might need to deal with representatives to clear up the matter. Traditional identity fraud losses hit $27.3 billion in 2025, with victims spending an average of 10.4 hours resolving identity fraud issues, according to a study from Javelin, an advisory consulting service. Even once everything is resolved, you'll need to find a way to scrub your personal information from the internet. These Identity Theft Protection Services Can Help If you've been burned by a job scammer, there are tools to help. Identity theft protection can offer coverage if you're financially impacted by automatically scrubbing your personal details (like home addresses and phone numbers) from hundreds of public databases and people-search sites. Here are a few of the best identity theft protection services, considering factors like cost, coverage, dark web surveillance and more. Company Forbes Advisor Rating Best For Plan Cost ID Theft Insurance Learn More Aura All-In-One ID Theft Protection 5.0 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best Value for Your Money $9 to $25 per month for family plans, if billed annually $1 million per adult Learn More On Aura's Website (or call 855-459-6788 for details) LifeLock Ultimate Plus Individual With Norton 360 Most popular 4.9 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Family Protection $24.99 per month, if billed annually $1 million per adult and child Learn More On LifeLock's Secure Website (or call 866-775-3167 for details) IdentityForce Ultra Secure+Credit 4.5 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Credit Monitoring Tools $23.95 monthly or $239.50 annually $1 million Learn More On IdentityForce's Secure Website McAfee+ Ultimate 4.5 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Ransomware Recovery $159.99 to $199.99 per year $2 million Learn More On McAfee's Secure Website ID Watchdog Premium 4.5 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. 401(k) and HSA protection $21.95 to $34.95 per month $1 million View More IDX Complete 4.4 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Privacy Protection $29.61 to $58.49 per month, if billed annually $1 million View More IDShield 3 Credit Bureau Monitoring 4.3 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Restoration Support $19.95 to $34.95 per month $3 million Learn More On IDShield's Secure Website Provider Details Aura All-In-One ID Theft Protection Learn More On Aura's Website (or call 855-459-6788 for details) Ratings 5.0 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For Best Value for Your Money Plan Cost $9 to $25 per month for family plans, if billed annually ID Theft Insurance $1 million per adult LifeLock Ultimate Plus Individual With Norton 360 Learn More On LifeLock's Secure Website (or call 866-775-3167 for details) Most popular Ratings 4.9 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For Family Protection Plan Cost $24.99 per month, if billed annually ID Theft Insurance $1 million per adult and child IdentityForce Ultra Secure+Credit Learn More On IdentityForce's Secure Website Ratings 4.5 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For Credit Monitoring Tools Plan Cost $23.95 monthly or $239.50 annually ID Theft Insurance $1 million McAfee+ Ultimate Learn More On McAfee's Secure Website Ratings 4.5 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For Ransomware Recovery Plan Cost $159.99 to $199.99 per year ID Theft Insurance $2 million ID Watchdog Premium View More Ratings 4.5 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For 401(k) and HSA protection Plan Cost $21.95 to $34.95 per month ID Theft Insurance $1 million IDX Complete View More Ratings 4.4 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For Privacy Protection Plan Cost $29.61 to $58.49 per month, if billed annually ID Theft Insurance $1 million IDShield 3 Credit Bureau Monitoring Learn More On IDShield's Secure Website Ratings 4.3 Rating Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Best For Restoration Support Plan Cost $19.95 to $34.95 per month ID Theft Insurance $3 million Bottom Line Job scams have the highest success rate and secure the most personal information compared to other scam types. But there are ways to prevent financial losses and stress, such as researching the company before applying or getting identity theft protection services for peace of mind. Was this article helpful? Share your feedback Send feedback to the editorial team Rate this Article ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Please rate the article Email Please enter valid email address Comments We'd love to hear from you, please enter your comments. 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