If you are involved in a financial-related business, it is essential that you protect your business’ financial well-being by hiring qualified and trustworthy employees.  An applicant’s personal credit and financial history can help tell you a great deal about whether or not the applicant is qualified for the job.  A pre-employment credit check allows you to access this financial information and make an informed hiring decision.

Knowing a potential hire’s personal credit history can provide you with valuable information about the individual’s financial status.  For instance, by performing a pre-employment credit check you can learn about the applicant’s financial habits, which provide a valuable prediction of what their financial habits will be as an employee.  If an individual has a poor personal credit history, they will more likely than not be financially responsible as an employee.  Essentially, a pre-employment credit check will give you access to information pertaining to an applicant’s ability to meet financial obligations and what type of financial pressure they are personally under.  Using a pre-employment credit check gives you a clear picture of how the individual applicant handles their own personal funds and thus provides you with a reflection of how the are likely to handle your company’s financial responsibilities and needs.  All of this information is invaluable to making the right decision on whom to hire.�
A pre-employment credit check is conducted by a professional credit check company.  To conduct a pre-employment credit check, you simply enter such information as the applicant’s full name, address, date of birth and social security number into the credit check company’s credit check search engine.  Most pre-employment credit checks are now conducted via an online program.  Once entered, the pre-employment credit check will survey numerous databases contained by various credit information companies and is done in accordance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s various rules and regulations.  Once the pre-employment credit check is complete, you will be provided a list of both current and previous credit accounts held by the applicant, including a complete payment history and current status for each account.  Further, the pre-employment credit check will provide you with information pertaining to any credit-related legal actions (both pending and closed), bankruptcies, and any other noteworthy credit-related activities.

By conducting a pre-employment credit check, you will have access to invaluable financial information about an applicant that can be used to predict what type of employee they will be if hired.  This information is of particular importance to any business involved in banking or other financial endeavors.  If a pre-employment credit check shows the job applicant has a history of being unable to manage their own personal finances, chances are they will not be able to manage the finances of your business.  Instead of finding this out after the fact, a pre-employment credit check acts as a preemptive screening tool that can effectively sift out potential problems before they are even given the change to become a problem.

This PDF guide was given to me by a friend several years ago. I originally posted it on Asiscleveland.com. There are some very cool weapons on here. So check out the FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION GUIDE TO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS 2003.

One of my favorites is the lipstick knife shown below:

I also like the Key Knife that has a built in HandCuff Key!:

Using a license verification system to verify the professional licensing of an individual is an essential step in fighting fraud. Business to business fraud can occur when an individual or party involved in either a business transaction or in applying for a job is dishonest about the status of their professional license. Many professions require an individual to be properly licensed. For example, attorneys, doctors, accountants, and financial advisors all require a professional license. Without the proper licensing, an individual is not qualified to participate in a business transaction or to be hired for the job. If one enters into a business transaction with an unqualified individual, they may become victims of fraud. Further more, if a business hires an individual who is not properly licensed, they may become liable for fraud or other damages resulting from the negligent hiring. Thus, before entering into a business relationship with any other individual, it is essential to protect yourself by conducting a thorough professional license verification of all involved parties.A professional license verification typically involves surveying data found in numerous state, federal and private databases. For example, if one is going to perform a license verification of a person applying to be an attorney, the license verification check would search the databases of a particular’s state’s attorney registration roster. To do this, a license verification will effectively check for a proper professional license of the applicant or other third party by verifying such information as the individual’s name, address, license number and license expiration date in comparison to the same information stored within the various databases. A license verification system can also check for any limitations, restrictions or disciplinary rulings that may affect an individual’s professional license status.

Utilizing a license verification database is the most convenient, efficient and effective method to obtain a professional license verification on a third-party business partner or potential hire. When one uses an automated license verification system, the license verification process automatically surveys numerous databases, providing the user with a thorough license verification on the individual in question. Many license verification programs use an online database search engine in order to perform a license verification check. An online license verification program has the advantage of allowing one to check a professional license either individually or in a batch by searching either one or numerous license verification sources with just one click.

Since the status of one’s professional license can change rapidly, it is important to conduct regular license verification checks. Making license verification a regular part of one’s business and hiring processes will allow one to better protect themselves from the risk of being a victim of fraud. Continuously taking the necessary steps to conduct a professional license verification will help reduce the risk of fraud and assist with letting one run a more effective and profitable business. Instead of discovering that an employee or business partner lacks the proper qualifications after the fact, a license verification will allow you to take preventative steps to ensure you hire the right individual from the start.

There is a great thread over on BackGroundChatter.com about screening your romantic interests. It has become a big topic of debate amongst those of you that choose to go the route of Internet dating. I would like to know some of your opinions on the matter. Below is an article I have written that deals with some of the pitfalls of online dating.

Online dating services can be tricky. Many people get lulled into a false sense of security when they meet someone “online”. Don’t fall into that trap. Make sure you check out whatever dating service you are going to use. This can be just as important as checking out the person you are going to be dating. Look for services that offer personality profiles as well as background checks on it’s members.

When you find someone make sure that you do not reveal too much about yourself initially. Keep it on a first name or “nickname” basis only until your are satisfied that the person you are conversing with is safe. Don’t tell them what town or what street you live on. Many people provide clues as to where they live without even realizing it. Do not just meet the person on a whim. Make sure you speak to them via the phone first. Also make sure that you have their correct information.

Even if the dating service provides a background check you may want to conduct your own independently. At the very least you want to make sure they have no criminal record. You may also want to conduct a background check of their “online identity”. This consists of going to search engines and typing in their name and nickname they may use online. Many private investigators provide this service and can dig up information where the general consumer can not. It may be worth it just to know for sure. Most importantly, when your are finally going to meet your dream date. Pick a public area that is well lit and where you feel safe. You may want to bring a friend in case things don’t go as planned.

So now you have finally met Mr. or Ms. Perfect and things seem to be going great! I know I may sound like a overprotective mother here but you must remember you really still do not know this person. Initially be wary. The first few dates keep your guard up. Keep an eye on your personal belongings. Many a person has been taken in by Internet con-men to have their identity stolen or worse. If you pay for dinner with a credit card keep an eye on it and the receipts. This goes for your ID, SS Card, as well.

Ok so things aren’t going so well. What happens if for some reason the relationship goes south. Hopefully this will not happen to you but it has been known to occur. If after just a short time you find that you are not compatible with the person let them know right away. Again, this may be a good time for a public area and a friend in tow. Hopefully that will be the end of it, but if things heat up and the person will not leave you alone there are some things you can do. Currently there are laws on the books that protect you from stalking. There is a federal law along with many state and local laws. See the bottom of this article for additional anti-stalking resources. And please this is not meant to scare you off from on-line fun, but please be careful out there.

Additional Resources:
TechTV.Com
iVillage.Com

Stalking:
To obtain a guide for stalking victims, write or call the National Center for Victims of Crime2111 Wilson Blvd.Ste. 300, Arlington, VA 22201Phone: (800) FYI-CALL or (703) 276-2880Web: http://www.ncvc.org/

Websites:
Stalking Behavior, by D. T. Coon http://www.stalkingbehavior.com/
Los Angeles Co. District Attorney http://www.lovemenot.org/
AXIS Intervention & Training Institute http://www.stalkingrescue.org/
Stalking Victims’ Sanctuary, by Linden Gross http://www.stalkingvictims.com/
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse http://www.privacyrights.org/
Anti Stalking website, by Doreen Orion, MD http://www.antistalking.com/
Gavin de Becker, Inc. threat assessment & protection services http://www.gdbinc.com/
“Stalking through the Courts,” by Janet Normalvanbreucher www.gate.net/~liz/liz/FRtactic.html
The Stalking Assistance Site, Kim Kelly & Joann Ugolini http://www.stalkingassistance.com/
Working to Halt Online Abuse http://www.haltabuse.org/
Safety Ed International http://www.safetyed.org/

In our last installment we discussed how to obtain motor vehicle records. Today I will discuss how to verify someones employment. Just so you know this is not a way to find out where someone is employed that is another can of worms completely. We will discuss how to determine if someone worked at a particular company and if they have a good work record.

First of all you will need a signed release to do these checks. If you are doing a background check on a prospective employees then the FCRA still applies as well as your state and local laws.

If the person you are doing the check on has filled out an application or has sent you a resume’ then you will have to look in the section that lists their previous employment. Most times they will list the address, phone number and their supervisor. You will want to call the company and try to get a hold of the supervisor. This way you can talk to the person that was directly responsible for that persons work.

A typical call may go something like this:

ABC Company: Hello ABC Company may I help you?
You: Yes may I speak to John Smith in the widget department?
ABC: One moment please.
ABC: Hi this is John Smith how may I help you?
You: Yes John, my name is Harry Mann, I have a gentleman by the name of (whatever the subjects name is) and he is applying for a job with us. He listed you as a contact for his previous employment. Is it ok if I ask you a couple of questions?
ABC: Sure go ahead!
You: (Subjects name) says that he was a widget wrangler with your company is that true?
ABC: Why yes it is!
You: He also states that you were his supervisor?
ABC: Yes, yes I was!
You: Was he a good worker for you then?
ABC: Yep, he was pretty good.
You: Pretty good? Were there any problems?
ABC: No not really.
You: Was he ever late?
ABC: Yes sometimes he was.
You: Well, I know how that goes. I had a guy that was always late and he smelled too.
ABC: Oh yeah, well let me tell you about (subject).

Now all calls may not go like that, but my point is once you start talking to these people be a little personable. It will get you far more information.
Some companies are huge and you will never get through to the supervisor or they may have a policy that they do not give out any information. Almost always though you can at least get dates of employment, salary and if they eligible for re-hire.

If you are willing to spend a little money you can use a service called The Work Number. They have an automated system that can verify someones previous employment. It’s a pretty nifty little tool. If you have any questions that I left unanswered feel free to leave them in the comments section. I will try and answer as many as I can.

In our next article I will cover the basics of verifying someones education. Hope to see you then!

Ok, many people on the Internet search for "free background checks". Most places that offer free background checks make you pay at some point. I am going to explain how you can do a check for free (for the most part) on yourself or someone else.

Let’s clear the air here, if you are going to be running a background check then please follow all state and federal laws pertaining to them. For example if you are conducting the check for employment purposes then please follow the guidelines of the FCRA. Do not take this lightly as you can get into a whole heap of trouble.

Let’s start with the criminal record check. The best way to do this, as I have said before, is to go through the county courts where the person has lived. If you have the persons last address then check that county and the surrounding counties in that area I will give an example. Let’s say I want to conduct a criminal record check on my daughters new boyfriend and I know that he is from Cleveland, Ohio. I went to http://www.ask.com/ and typed in Ohio County Maps. I happen to know that Cleveland, Ohio is located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Ask.com gave me a good county map of Ohio and from there I can determine the closest counties around Cuyahoga. Check out a copy of the map here http://www.dot.state.oh.us/map1/cntymap.asp .

The reason I want the closest counties to Cuyahoga is because I am going to be checking them for criminal records on our subject as well. Why, you ask? Well because most people that commit crimes tend to do so within their comfort zone, meaning within a certain distance of their house.

So from our example we can see that Lake, Geauga, Summit, Medina and Lorain Counties all surround our target county.

Next we need to figure out what court house we are either going to call or check online. Most courthouses are online these days and you can find a good list of them here http://www.crimcheck.com/freerecords.htm .

Ok, I now have My subjects name, the county he lives in and the surrounding counties of the county he lives in and a list to find the court houses in those counties. Now we need to find out if he has a criminal record. In this instance I used the name Michael Smith. Click the image at the top of this post for the example. As you can see the results all have addresses by them, that is one way to determine that you have the right subject.

Now you can go to all of the other counties on your list and do the same thing. Warning: As you can see from our example there is more than one Michael Smith. Make sure that you have the right subject before you start making accusations or using the results as evidence.

You can even go one step further and check for misdemeanors within the city courts of the counties that your are checking. I would normally just check the city where the subject lives and the county seats of the surrounding counties. If you have comments or questions please feel free to post them here.

I will be covering motor vehicle records and driving records in my next article so stay tuned!

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So ya wanna be a net detective/netsleuth/cybercop, etc? First of all the claims these types of software packages make are false! Out and out lies. I had written an article about background checks several years ago and included some of the flaws with their advertising. I will go over some of the bigger lies here. Read more…

Kroll Risk Consulting has released it’s “hit ratio” report and trends seem to be pointing upward when finding discrepancies in employment screening. For instance criminal record hits are up from 8.5% to 9.1% from last year. Is it because more people are committing crimes? That could be part of it. It could also be that from year to year better and more information becomes available. It also seems that driving record and employment verification hits are up as well. Nearly 50% of all applicants had at least one discrepancy on their previous employment list. This just goes to show you can never be too careful.

Are we doing enough to make sure that our children are safe when in our schools? Teachers have a huge responsibility and granted they do not get paid nearly enough for the jobs that they do. But, does that mean we should not scrutinize their backgrounds any less? Read more…

The following is an article written by Ted Moss of Crimcheck.com

• Did you know?
• 50 Billion Dollars is the annual cost of workplace violence
• 50 Billion Dollars is lost because of workplace drug use
• 100 Billion Dollars is what American businesses loose due to employee theft
• Identity theft for employment purposes is on the rise
• Employment screening is a critical component to combating these issues

Read more…