Here's the scenario: You're out of work and it has been that way for a while. In your desperate search to land a job, you've posted your resume everywhere you can think of on the Internet.

So a prospective employer can contact you immediately, you've included your address and telephone number.

Unexpectedly, a man calls you and describes the perfect job. This job fits you completely. He read over your resume and says with your credentials, you'd be a perfect fit in his organization. He can't wait to have you on his team.

To get the ball rolling, he says he'd like to ask you a series of pre-employment questions for the screening process. One of those questions he happens to ask is what your Social Security Number is.

You don't want to appear rude, after all, this is your perfect job—so you give the information to him. The call is quickly wrapped up and he says he'll contact you within the week. You never hear from him again.

With the information you've provided, he is able to open up lines of credit all over the place—all in your name. By the time you find out, it's already too late. Now, not only are you jobless, you're having a time trying to clean up the mess from this one encounter with a scam artist.

The simple way to keep this from happening to you is never include your telephone number and address on your online resume. Let prospective employers contact you email. Most of us are able to recognize scammers when they email us. You don't want to have to deal with identity theft at anytime during your life—especially while your unemployed.