Monster.com, the nation's largest online job site, has more than 50 million resumes in its database and gets 50,000 new ones every day. Privacy experts say that makes it a magnet for identity thieves and con artists.

"The likelihood of a job site being victimized by fraudsters is almost 100 percent, because it is just too compelling," said Pam Dixon, founder of the advocacy group World Privacy Forum. "There is just so much information that a job site has access to that a fraudster would be interested in."

Job hunters need to stay a step ahead as well:

• Beware of employers who ask for background checks before offering you a job.
• Verify an employer's legitimacy. Call or visit its place of business.
• Limit the personal information on your online resume.
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Following a wave of negative publicity and pressure from the government, several Web sites that peddled people's private phone records are calling it quits.

"We are no longer accepting new orders" was the announcement posted Wednesday on two such sites, locatecell.com and celltolls.com.

The U.S. Justice Dept.'s demand for data on how Web surfers use Google and other search engines raises a disturbing question: Just how much do the Web sites you visit know about you? In general, they know a great deal about the aggregate behavior of visitors, and nothing about individuals unless they have chosen to identify themselves. But there are exceptions.