I didn't know this straight off, I found out in my first week that he had this data and I didn't know where it had come from. In the next few weeks he got a bit panicky, and told me the data was going to be "audited" by the company he'd just left (and stolen the data from).
Only then did I realise it was stolen data, that was like a month or two into the job.
He also lied about his name to me, I found out a month later he'd done this so that if he fired me (or his name appeared in the press) - then no one could track him down. I think the company was even registered (initially) under his false name.
I should have smelled a rat, but at age 20 I didn't even know rats could smell.
Really, don't blame it on your age. I knew better at 15. The first employer I had was a guy doing MLM who wanted me to accept a lower wage now for big riches later. He talked a great game, but if he was so sure my work would make him rich later, as the boss it's his job to make the call and make an investment by paying me reasonably from the start. If I miss out on 'big riches' later on, no big whoop. Of course he never made any money because MLM is a scam.
A year later I was 16 and working for his brothers company, a remailing company that actually provided a valuable service and had a solid business model. Guess what, they didn't try to get me to work for almost nothing! Like any real business, they realized the value I would bring and paid me accordingly. I designed their newsletter, wrote an application to track serial numbers on their postage metering machines when the government started requiring that (which was fun because they gave me 24 hours notice that they needed it to comply with federal law, but I think it surprised them too). When they wanted me to make a web-based application for their sales people to work up price quotes for prospective clients I met with the owner and told him this was above and beyond my part-time after-school job duties as 'anything with a computer guy' and proposed doing it as a separate contract, he went for it and I made what was (to teenaged me) a buttload of money on it.
Real businesses understand that salaries are not charity. They're not even something reluctantly handed over in order to get work out of people. They're investments. Of course it requires you to find the right people, and doesn't eliminate any of the challenge or risk out of running a business, but no employer worth a squirt of piss is going to expect their employees to take those risks for the company. Protection from that kind of thing is why people work for companies and aren't just self-employed!
At 15 I was writing business-plans, I attended a young-entrepeneur event held by the BBC and was selected as a finalist (nothing came of it). I also worked for my parents.
So, there wasn't much opportunity to learn the lesson that scumbags are out there and how they might abuse you as an employee. Also, I wasn't very street smart and a bit of an introvert.
It took time to learn lessons like this, it took time to learn how to be an extrovert. I could explain all of these thing but sometimes it's just easier to say "I was 20 and stupid".
By the way, I'm pretty sure we will all carry on learning throughout life, up until each of us dies hopefully.
If it's interesting and well written, nobody will balk at the length of your posts. Just go check out patio11's blog. The average post there is huge, but I (and I think many with me) read it all the way through anyway because there is so much value in it.
Only then did I realise it was stolen data, that was like a month or two into the job.
He also lied about his name to me, I found out a month later he'd done this so that if he fired me (or his name appeared in the press) - then no one could track him down. I think the company was even registered (initially) under his false name.
I should have smelled a rat, but at age 20 I didn't even know rats could smell.