monster advertiser wants your social security number

Mon, Jul 23, 2007

Unbelievable … Monster is currently running one of their infamous interstitial ads, the ones in between job search and job listings, that actually asks for a social security number.

The pages are even branded Monster, although the ad is for a company called Great Student Loan Payoff. Boo! Two thumbs way down.

If you use Monster Worldwide (employer or job seeker), I encourage you to lobby them to stop this deceptive practice. It’s wrong on so many levels.

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This post was written by:

Joel Cheesman - who has written 1471 posts on Cheezhead Recruiting News and Opinion.

One of the most widely-read bloggers on emerging recruitment issues in the world. Accomplishments include being named Recruiting.com’s Best Technology Recruitment Blog and Best Recruiting Blog. Joel's been featured in Fast Company magazine, BusinessWeek Magazine, Resumes for Dummies, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal and more. Plug into Joel via Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, iTunes, YouTube or Flickr.

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11 Comments For This Post

chrisr2 Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm

I guess the recent steam explosion that postponed their earnings call failed to shake things up in the ad department. The problem with Monster is that they are a public company and have to maximize revenue by squeezing every piece of information from job seekers, including their SSN. They have to “keep growing” to satisfy wall streets appetite for growth. This is all bad news for job seekers and the user experience.

Nice catch Joel.

chrisr2 Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:23 pm

I just checked the blogosphere for “Affinity Direct” LLC which operates the site in the ad. I found this blog warning that its an email scam…

http://www.newlook.com.sg/newsmasq.asp?guid=070610180400

Eric Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:02 pm

Can you get in trouble for plagarizing yourself? This is the exact ad Goldberg was talking about in the “Monster is crap video”, which you wrote about 8 months ago! http://www.cheezhead.com/2006/11/02/monster-crap-product/

joel Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:27 pm

Exact? Hardly. This is the first instance I’ve seen of asking for a social security number.

Eric Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:57 pm

If you look at your video in between the 2-3 minute mark, you’ll see the spot where they’re asking for a SSN. It’s kind of hard to see, and someone was unkind enough to stick their head in the way, but it’s there. (See the three seperate fields with the lock next to it). Semantics though…point is M has been doing this forever, and you probably should be reminding people about it every 8 months or so anyway!

joel Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:46 pm

Your eyes are way better than mine.

Daniel Sweet Says:
July 24th, 2007 at 10:50 am

Ah yes. It’s “Big Swingin..” er… “King of the Hill” Syndrome.

As in, “Well, 80% of the screen real estate is ads and our pageviews haven’t gone down, so I guess nobody minds…”

The market is ripe for something that works better, is less intrusive, and isn’t all about seeing how much crap people will wade through before they get to an actual job.

Dan

Nick Says:
July 25th, 2007 at 2:41 pm

I do not know of any other advertiser that would ask for your SSN in their ad. This ad does seem deceptive. You do not give out your SSN unless you choose to apply for a loan of any kind. Hopefully, those seeing this ad will be smart enough to skip this ad. However, I think most people skip these interstitial ads becasue they are so annoying.

Anonymous Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 am

This is an offer for a student loan consolidation product – the company is called Educational Direct. The company uses the SSN to check the eligibility of the applicant to consolidate (some people can, and can’t consolidate their student loans).

I’m not in love with this practice either, but it exists in many places. Credit card offers, mortgage offers, 401k rollover offers… they all ask for SSN to quickly determine if the lead is qualified or not.

anonymous Says:
August 24th, 2007 at 1:56 pm

I know people who work for Educational Direct and have been told that they preach to their employees about how to sell these consolidations to vulnerable college students. I’ve been told that it’s like a cult or even a sweat shop. They don’t let their employees take lunch breaks and God forbid you take a day off. They take advantage of the word “federal” and trick people into thinking they are the government. Actually you might be happy to know, that I was told that they are currently under investigation. Nobody should trick you into giving out your social security number. This is how they steal there leads. They will call you non-stop, monday-sunday, even on holidays. My advice is to stay the hell away from anything you recieve in the mail, on email, or through phone calls presenting themselves as educational or affinity direct. By the way, if you do recieve something from them and call to be removed from their list, make sure you tell them to remove you completely or they will continue to harass you through other means.

ex-employee Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 3:31 pm

I worked for affinity direct, it is a cult & sweatshop. It;s real scary. Yes the scam is in full effect just like slight of hand. In the beginning you’re told lie after lie about other employees, the program, sales tactics you name it. If you act like you’re not down with the program you’re spied on by other employees who are obviously over paid. Based on there lacjk of any kind of professional skill. You are not allowed to leave for lunch nor are you allowed to eat lunch with whom you like . It is a completely controlled/manipulated enviroment. Boiler room.

chrisr2 Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
I guess the recent steam explosion that postponed their earnings call failed to shake things up in the ad department. The problem with Monster is that they are a public company and have to maximize revenue by squeezing every piece of information from job seekers, including their SSN. They have to “keep growing” to satisfy wall streets appetite for growth. This is all bad news for job seekers and the user experience.

Nice catch Joel.
chrisr2 Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I just checked the blogosphere for “Affinity Direct” LLC which operates the site in the ad. I found this blog warning that its an email scam…

http://www.newlook.com.sg/newsmasq.asp?guid=070610180400
Eric Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Can you get in trouble for plagarizing yourself? This is the exact ad Goldberg was talking about in the “Monster is crap video”, which you wrote about 8 months ago! http://www.cheezhead.com/2006/11/02/monster-crap-product/
joel Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Exact? Hardly. This is the first instance I’ve seen of asking for a social security number.
Eric Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:57 pm
If you look at your video in between the 2-3 minute mark, you’ll see the spot where they’re asking for a SSN. It’s kind of hard to see, and someone was unkind enough to stick their head in the way, but it’s there. (See the three seperate fields with the lock next to it). Semantics though…point is M has been doing this forever, and you probably should be reminding people about it every 8 months or so anyway!
joel Says:
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Your eyes are way better than mine.
Daniel Sweet Says:
July 24th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Ah yes. It’s “Big Swingin..” er… “King of the Hill” Syndrome.

As in, “Well, 80% of the screen real estate is ads and our pageviews haven’t gone down, so I guess nobody minds…”

The market is ripe for something that works better, is less intrusive, and isn’t all about seeing how much crap people will wade through before they get to an actual job.

Dan
Nick Says:
July 25th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I do not know of any other advertiser that would ask for your SSN in their ad. This ad does seem deceptive. You do not give out your SSN unless you choose to apply for a loan of any kind. Hopefully, those seeing this ad will be smart enough to skip this ad. However, I think most people skip these interstitial ads becasue they are so annoying.
Anonymous Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 am
This is an offer for a student loan consolidation product – the company is called Educational Direct. The company uses the SSN to check the eligibility of the applicant to consolidate (some people can, and can’t consolidate their student loans).

I’m not in love with this practice either, but it exists in many places. Credit card offers, mortgage offers, 401k rollover offers… they all ask for SSN to quickly determine if the lead is qualified or not.
anonymous Says:
August 24th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I know people who work for Educational Direct and have been told that they preach to their employees about how to sell these consolidations to vulnerable college students. I’ve been told that it’s like a cult or even a sweat shop. They don’t let their employees take lunch breaks and God forbid you take a day off. They take advantage of the word “federal” and trick people into thinking they are the government. Actually you might be happy to know, that I was told that they are currently under investigation. Nobody should trick you into giving out your social security number. This is how they steal there leads. They will call you non-stop, monday-sunday, even on holidays. My advice is to stay the hell away from anything you recieve in the mail, on email, or through phone calls presenting themselves as educational or affinity direct. By the way, if you do recieve something from them and call to be removed from their list, make sure you tell them to remove you completely or they will continue to harass you through other means.
ex-employee Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I worked for affinity direct, it is a cult & sweatshop. It;s real scary. Yes the scam is in full effect just like slight of hand. In the beginning you’re told lie after lie about other employees, the program, sales tactics you name it. If you act like you’re not down with the program you’re spied on by other employees who are obviously over paid. Based on there lacjk of any kind of professional skill. You are not allowed to leave for lunch nor are you allowed to eat lunch with whom you like . It is a completely controlled/manipulated enviroment. Boiler room.

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