The British newspaper, The Guardian's job board was hacked, exposing 500,000 resumes to potential identity theft. The newspaper's response? Tell users of the board to buy identity theft protection. Talk about a slap in the face! (You're looking for a job on our site. We messed up. Now you have to pay for our mess-up.)

Another British job board -- Monster.uk -- was hacked earlier this year. There have been other cases.

I have written about this problem previously. It makes me mad that identity thieves target the unemployed. It's not like we don't have enough scammers trying to rip us off as it is. It just goes to show how predators always prey on the weak and vulnerable. It's sickening.

The people with the least to steal are always the ones from whom the most is stolen. Seriously, folks, guard your information. Be wary of recruiters. Don't include any personal information on your resume, and keep your resume as general as possible. Never, ever give anyone your Social Security Number or driver's license number. Don't disclose salary information until you have an offer packet. I would say you should not even give your telephone number -- just a yahoo, gmail, or hotmail e-mail address -- when applying for jobs.

Check your credit, too. It's free. The thing is, once you become a victim of identity theft, it hurts your chances of getting a new job because most employers do a background check, and an identity thief can wreak havoc on your reputation.

If you can spare $10 a month and still have anything to lose, you might want to seriously consider a service like Identity Lookout. (affiliate link)