Various
companies on the worldwide web offer U.S. public records data for sale
online. Many of these sites advertise background checks. This
is not quite true because what is provided is not actually a background
check, but rather a background report.
Background
reports basically provide a 20 year history of addresses, phone
numbers, marriages and divorces, businesses owned and property
ownership. A nationwide criminal check is usually provided
for an additional charge, but it is still a background report not a
background check.
A real
background check includes a credit report, job history, income
verification and education history, and the person investigated must
consent to each of these checks in writing and have their identity
verified "on-site". A true Background Check Company works
with those conducting the background checks because written consent
must be obtained.
Fortunately,
modern technology has allowed everyone and anyone to perform criminal
background checks on whom ever they wish and everyone has a record
trail, unless your from Mars.
Let's face
it, a person's criminal past may be an indicator of a criminal
future. Criminal background checks are intended to identify
those likely to commit crime. Running a background check on
someone and finding out they have a criminal past allows you to walk
away from these people and prevent putting your money and property at
risk.
And
criminal background checks can be performed state-wide or even
internationally. Should you decide to perform criminal
background checks using the Internet, you'll see that prices vary
depending on the services needed. Obviously, you'll pay more
for an extensive criminal background check than a brief search.
Keep in
mind though that criminal background checks will only reveal crimes
that a person was convicted of and not arrests without
conviction. So it's also best to be a good judge of moral
character as your last line of defense.
Presented
below is a list of background check types. The one you should
be interested in is the Criminal Record Check.
Types of
Background Checks.
pre-employment
screening
credit
check
criminal
record check
Government
security clearance screenings
Type of
information included in the various background checks.
Criminal and incarceration records.
Litigation records.
Employers may want to identify potential employees who routinely file
discrimination lawsuits.
Driving and vehicle records.
Employers in the transportation sector seek drivers with clean driving
records.
Drug tests are used
for a variety of reasons, eg. employee hiring and screening.
Education records.
Did the potential employee in fact receive a college degree as claimed?
Employment records.
These usually range from simple verbal confirmations of past employment
and time frame to deeper discussions about performance, activities and
accomplishments and relations with others.
Financial information.
Individuals with poor credit scores, liens, civil judgments, or those
who have filed for bankruptcy may be at risk of stealing from a
company.
Licensing records. A
government authority that has some oversight over professional conduct
of its licensees will also maintain records regarding the licensee,
such as personal information, education, complaints, investigations,
and disciplinary actions.
Military records.
Although not as common today as it was in the past fifty years,
employers frequently requested the specifics of one's military
discharge.
Social Security Number
(or equivalent). A fraudulent SSN may be indicative of identity theft,
insufficient citizenship, or concealment of a "past life".
Polygraph test. Also
known as a psycho physiological detection of deception (PDD)
examination.
Other interpersonal interviews.
Employers will usually wish to speak with potential employees'
references to gage employability. More intensive background checks can
involve interviews with anybody that knew or previously knew the
applicant--such as teachers, friends, coworkers, and family
members.
