I have a profile on LinkedIn, and quite often get contacted by recruiters enquiring whether I'd be interested in a position that they're currently recruiting for. The recruiters usually all ask the same questions: current position, reason for leaving, salary information, etc. I recently had a recruiter call me about a role and after going through the usual questions, she then asked for my National Insurance number in order to be able to put my application forward. This immediately rang alarm bells for me, as I've never had a recruiter ask for this before, and it's obviously 'sensitive' information, and not something I want to give out over the phone to just anyone. Am I just being paranoid here or is it normal for companies/recruiters to ask you for your National Insurance number as part of the application?
The National Insurance number is the British counterpart to the US's Social Security number and is also known as NI No or NINO. Edit I decided to try getting in touch with the client directly- sent them an email enquiring about this, and someone from their HR department got back to me to say that they had engaged this recruitment agency to recruit for the role. After explaining my concerns about handing out personal information prior to an interview, they said that they would instruct the recruitment agency to process my application without my NI No, but that I would be required to present it along with my passport at interview- which I am more than happy to do.
Related question for the US' counterpart to the NI No: This Recruiter wants my Social Security Number? (not a duplicate).
Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 10:50@OP: I've made an aggressive edit to cut the unrelated information from your post and focus it down to your central question.
Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 10:51The first paragraph of your edit is not correct- I am not applying for these positions myself, this is when recruiters get in touch with me, having found my CV online or looked at my LinkedIn profile. I have changed it back to what it was originally.
Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 15:59True, but that's probably not really relevant to the question. I'd encourage you to generalise the question to "when talking with recruiters".
Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 16:05Generally, when applying for jobs myself, I am pretty confident that the website I'm using to apply is the genuine website for the company, so I have no problem entering in any of my details into that website, as I know my information will be kept confidential. This also includes sensitive information (I currently work for a military organisation, so appreciate that my NI number would be required when applying for a position with my company). The issue I have here, is not so much the application process, but being wary of people potentially claiming to be recruiters.