What is the single most important step?

Freezing your credit with the three major bureaus. A freeze is free and stops most new accounts from being opened in your name, which is what an identity thief tries to do with your SSN. You can lift it anytime you need to apply for credit.

Is a credit freeze free, and does it hurt my credit?

Yes, it is free by law, and no, it does not affect your credit score. You can freeze and unfreeze as often as you need. It simply blocks new creditors from pulling your report while it is on.

What if I only sent a photo of my ID, not my SSN?

Still act. An ID image can be used to open accounts or pass identity checks, often alongside other data the scammer collected. Place a fraud alert, watch your accounts, and note the ID in your report at IdentityTheft.gov.

I gave a job scammer my SSN or a photo of my ID - what now?

Sharing your Social Security number or a photo of your ID with a scammer is serious, but the right moves in the next day or two sharply limit what anyone can do with it.

Do this first

Freeze your credit with all three bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A freeze is free, does not affect your score, and blocks most new accounts from being opened in your name. It is the strongest single step, so do it before anything else.

Then, in order

Go to IdentityTheft.gov, the FTC's identity-theft service, and follow its step-by-step recovery plan for an exposed SSN.
Place a free fraud alert, which you can add when you set the freeze.
Watch your bank, card, and credit accounts for activity you did not start.
Keep records of exactly what you sent, to whom, and when, and report the scam to the FTC.

If you sent a passport or license image

Note it specifically in your report, keep watching for misuse, and consider whether to replace the document. An ID image is a building block for identity theft, which is why the request for it was a red flag in the first place. For a driver's license, your state's motor vehicle agency can advise on a replacement number, and for a passport, the State Department can flag a compromised document. A written timeline of what you sent and when makes any of these reports faster.

What next

If you also sent bank details or money, work through the broader recovery checklist. To avoid a repeat, remember that a real employer asks for your SSN and ID only after a signed offer, as covered in should I give my bank account or SSN. Paste a suspicious offer into the free checker.