Normal for recruiters to ask for last 4 of your social / dob on first call? - jackmodern
======
liquidcool
Absolutely not. I hire engineers, for myself and others, and the last thing I
want to know is how old you are. Are they insane? I can't think of an easier
way to set yourself up for an age discrimination lawsuit.

Also, for third party recruiting, I've never asked for anything related to an
SSN. The hiring company may ask for that for a background check, if it is
contingent on an offer, but not from me.

I'm wondering if this another situation where the recruiter is not in the
country the job is in, because someone wanted to pay pennies on the dollar.

~~~
staticelf
One fucked up thing about my home country Sweden is that it's totally legal
with age discrimination and even the state is doing it all the time.

For example, at specific jobs in the government you get extra holidays if
you're above a certain age. Why they think older people deserve more holiday
is beyond me. It has nothing to do with how long you've worked there since a
29 year old that has worked there in 10 years wouldn't get as much vacation as
a 40-year old that recently was hired. It has nothing to do with experience.
Just age.

I can say as a young developer, I have felt this age thing several times at
companies. They just don't give you the same salary or take you as serious
because of the age. It doesn't matter how skilled you are or how much value
you provide to the company.

~~~
QuantumRoar
They stopped doing the age related holiday amount thing at German universities
about 4-5 years ago (I'm not sure if everywhere but at least where I'm at).
Their argument for stopping was, as you said, that it discriminates by age,
which they deemed unacceptable.

Now, everyone gets the same amount of holidays, i.e. younger employees get as
much as the older ones, not the other way around.

~~~
wayn3
Its not them who deemed it unacceptable. Its simply illegal.

~~~
QuantumRoar
Of course, you're right.

------
pmiller2
No. Run, don't walk away.

There's no need to reveal that information until you've at least got a firm
job offer.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Easy to say if you don't need the job.

~~~
lmm
When you're desperate is when you're most vulnerable. Unfortunately there are
people/organizations that operate by taking advantage of this.

------
walrus01
Oh, hell no. That's a scam.

------
jakebasile
Scam. Block their number/email.

------
unwind
I totally didn't get this, but inferred from a comment: "dob" in this context
means "date of birth".

~~~
jablan
also: social apparently meaning social security number. some American thing
obviously.

~~~
throwaway2016a
No, DoB is always Date of Birth. SSN is Social Security Number.

But in the US you can really easily get DoB from the SSN.

------
petters
No

The interview training at my company mentioned age as one of many things we
were forbidden to ask about.

SSN? It was so obviously disallowed it was never mentioned.

------
imsofuture
No. Or maybe, for an awful recruiter. Just bounce.

------
withdavidli
If you're in the US the most common time for that info to be collected is at
the offer acceptance stage. This is usually a form you fill out for their HR
system.

This might be different depending on the country. I've seen CVs that have
SSN/DOB/Marriage/Picture/Driver License because where they are located that's
normal info to have on there.

------
sangupta
Must be a scam

------
sofaofthedamned
I've had this recently in the UK where the client is Capita, who do insist on
it.

~~~
blunte
And just like companies that insist on using the truly horrible painful Taleo
system for their job interface, I just say "NEXT" and find a better
opportunity.

~~~
sofaofthedamned
A million times yes! Especially when you can't right-click a job into another
tab. Where do they find these people, and who keeps paying them?!

------
magoon
Preying on job seekers is abhorrent. Try to find out who they are so that you
can report them.

------
danaliv
Run like the wind.

------
sharemywin
Some candidate submission systems at larger companies use that info to get a
unique id so recruiters don't double submit candidates. At least that's what
the told me. Not sure if it's true or not.

------
dczmer
there is no reason for the SSN digits unless you actually get a legitimate
offer. there should be no reason to even ask your DOB at this stage, but
that's slightly less worrying. but most of all, i've never gotten a job from a
recruiter that was worth it. they are trying to get a commission and that is
all. apply directly for jobs YOURSELF. stay away from 3rd-party recruiters.

------
Kiro
What does last 4 refer to in this case?

~~~
dmatthewson
The last 4 digits of his SSN. The last 4 are often used as a default password
for financial accounts and to verify identity over the phone. Along with the
date of birth (dob). It's a bad idea that it's used so much for security, but
it is. It's a good thing for scammers to have and asking for it and the dob in
this context is a huge red flag.

------
hoodoof
Phishing.

------
JSeymourATL
Employers, like your phone company and gas company, use your SSN to identify
you in their databases because it’s a unique number. It’s the lazy vendor’s
way to track customers, and the lazy HR department’s way to track job
applicants. And it’s frankly irresponsible. >
[http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/7696/wanted-hr-exec-with-
the...](http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/7696/wanted-hr-exec-with-the-guts-to-
not-ask-for-your-ssn)

