SINGAPORE: Like many jobseekers, he thought nothing of it
when his employer made copies of his identity card. After all, the
21-year-old, who only wanted to be known as Jack, had his identity
card photocopied when he applied for previous part-time jobs.
But the past weekend turned out to be a nightmare for Jack. His
home was targeted by loan sharks: A shoe rack was set on fire on
Saturday and paint was splashed on his door early Monday
morning.
Jack believes he had unwittingly given his personal details as part
of an illegal loan transaction. Told that his part-time job
involved the securing of property loans, Jack’s “work” included
picking up calls, giving his personal details and handing over
money transferred into his personal bank account to his
employer.
Jack, who has lodged a police report, is not alone. TODAY
understands that at least eight people may have fallen victim to
this alleged employment scam. A police spokesperson said
investigations are ongoing.
Other jobseekers who have disclosed their personal details have
found themselves on the receiving end of unsolicited sales pitches
of insurance and other products.
Last month, Mr Jason Lim received three calls from insurance
agencies after his online resume was viewed by six financial
advisory firms or insurance-related companies.
“I felt that my private information had been misused and it could
have been worse,” said the 28-year-old. “Imagine an illegal group
using the information to make a hoax kidnapping threat. They
basically have all my personal information.”
Ms Jennifer De Souza, who responded to a classified ad asking
jobseekers to reply with an SMS of their names and dates of birth,
found herself receiving six calls within a week from companies
peddling insurance and other products.
“Does MOM (Ministry of Manpower) check whether these companies have
an opening or do they just collect information for a database of
these applicants?” she wondered.
Pointing to the Employment Agency Licensing Conditions, an MOM
spokesperson said licensed agencies cannot give, divulge or reveal
to any persons, directly or indirectly, any information regarding
any client without the client’s written consent. Otherwise, the
agency’s licence may be revoked.
The MOM has not received any complaints against the more than 2,000
licensed employment agencies here on the misuse of client
information this year, added the spokesperson.
But jobseekers enter into a grey area when they turn to online job
portals and classified ads. Portals that allow employers and
jobseekers to search and post job postings and resumes need not be
licensed. Only those that match and place jobseekers have to
be.
At present, there is no generic personal data protection law, even
though there are strict provisions that apply to specific sectors.
These include the Banking Act and codes for medical professionals
to protect sensitive information about a person’s finances and
health.
Online job portals TODAY contacted said they do not sell databases
of jobseekers and have put in place measures to prevent
unscrupulous businesses from mining personal data other than for
employment purposes.
Mr Lim Der Shing, chief executive for job portal JobsCentral,
believes the situation is worse offline. “Actually, offline, an
unscrupulous business could also run a newspaper ad claiming to
have lots of job positions and use the resultant databases
generated for other purposes such as sales,” he said.
With the economy in the doldrums, jobseekers such as Ms De Souza
and Jack hope that the authorities will crack down on unscrupulous
employers.
“Please do not make us a fool, requesting a resume and not getting
back to us,” said Ms de Souza, who has been unemployed since last
August.
Jack, who is awaiting National Service enlistment, is enduring
sleepless nights. He stays up to monitor a surveillance camera he
has installed, worried that his family members may be harmed.
On Monday, the family even bought a cable cutter in case the loan
sharks chain their gates. “I only wanted to earn some income and
help my family. I never thought it could end up like this,” said
Jack.
- TODAY/vm