A report out of Seattle, Washington – which shows that identity theft victims can strike back at criminals who steal their identities – tells the story of how a young woman suffering from identity theft helped bring down an identity theft ring after a chance face to face meeting with the woman who stole her identity.

As reported by the Seattle Times, in January of 2009 Michelle McCambridge, a 23-year-old retail store clerk and college student, found herself a victim of identity theft after someone had taken out department store credit cards in her name and racked up thousands of dollars in charges.

However, according to the Times, about a week after a federal agent had shown her a photo taken from surveillance footage of a woman wearing thick-rimmed glasses opening a card in McCambridge's name around Christmas time, McCambridge found herself face to face with the same woman – later identified as Stephanie Locke, 29 – who asked to open a credit account at McCambridge's counter at J.C. Penney.

The fast thinking McCambridge excused herself and had the store security cameras zoom in on a fake ID Locke was presenting with another woman's name, an action which set in motion a federal investigation that ultimately brought down an identity theft ring, a case that both federal agents and the prosecutor say would not have been possible without the identity theft victim's presence of mind, the Times reported.

According to the report, five people – including Locke, who has since pleaded guilty to reduced charges and faces prison time – were indicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle and charged with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and misuse of Social Security numbers.

While McCambridge is just one of approximately 9 million people who suffer from identity theft each year, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), this case is of particular interest because this identity theft victim – with the help of her father, who knew one of the investigators – became actively involved in the investigation, the Times reported.

People fighting identity theft need to take proactive steps before, and not just after, an incidence of identity theft. While checking credit reports can help deter financial problems related to identity theft, stolen identification can also be used by identity thieves to avoid taking responsibility for their criminal actions.

Individuals who want to make sure their criminal background checks are clear of any misinformation or inaccuracies stemming from identity theft that could prevent them finding employment, renting an apartment, or volunteering, may want to consider running a “personal” background check on themselves to keep their information up-to-date, accurate, and secure.

While most background check companies only service employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com provides consumer requested background checks for individuals to use as jobseekers, students, renters, volunteers, and consumers who want to protect themselves from identity theft and fraud.

For more information, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

With the arrival of Labor Day weekend comes the official end of summer, and millions of students – from eager freshmen to seasoned seniors – will head back to colleges and universities across the nation, if they have not left already. While most will be thinking of what classes to take and majors to choose, one lesson that should be taught to students while at school is how to avoid identity theft.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) – a nonprofit, nationally respected organization dedicated exclusively to the understanding and prevention of identity theft – various studies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint study, reveal that the 18- to 29-year-old age bracket continues to account for almost one-quarter (24 percent) of all identity theft complaints.  Unfortunately, this “identity theft vulnerable” age bracket usually coincides with the years in which individuals do the following for the first time:

• Move away from home & family;
• Attend schools with thousands of NEW classmates (i.e. strangers);
• Rent apartments and housing;
• Open individual bank accounts;
• Receive first credit & debit cards;
• Travel without supervision;
• Apply for employment; and,
• Purchase first “big” ticket items such as cars and homes.

Now imagine trying to successfully accomplish all of these “major firsts” of life after suffering from identity theft, the fastest growing type of crime in America?

According to the 2009 Identity Fraud Survey Report released by Javelin Strategy & Research, the number of identity theft and fraud victims has increased almost one-quarter (22 percent) in the past year to affect nearly 10 million adults in the United States. Identity theft and fraud – defined as the unauthorized use of another person’s personal information to achieve illicit financial gain – can strike anyone, anywhere, and at any time, but students and young adults are at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives and identity theft could lead to more problems later on in life.

In order to help prevent identity theft and other scams they might encounter while living on their own for the first time, the ITRC offers several identity theft prevention tips for college students, including:

• Keep Social Security Card or Social Security Number (SSN) – the most desired information in identity theft – in a safe place. Do not carry it.
• Don’t share SSNs with anyone without knowing why they need it.  Schools should use student identification numbers instead of the SSNs.
• Safely store laptop containing personal information when not in use.
• Be wary of identity theft exposure while on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube & Twitter.
• Never loan a driver’s license or identification card to anyone. They could use it as an ID card when stopped by the police.
• Once credit has been established credit, check credit reports annually for signs of identity theft.

By avoiding the harsh lesson of identity theft, sudents will get a better start on their next stage in life: work. Since students will eventually have to find employment after graduation, they will most likely also have to pass a pre-employment background check since over 80 percent of U.S. businesses now perform such background checks on prospective employees. Employers usually run criminal background checks and sometimes check credit reports, so students nearing graduation may want to get a leg up on the competition by performing "personal" background checks on themselves.

Learning what a potential employer will see in a background check before they see it helps the student turned jobseeker along the path to employment. At the same time, personal background checks can also detect criminal identity theft, such as when one person commits a crime in another person's name, and helps keep personal information up-to-date, accurate, and secure.

MyBackgroundCheck.com is a leading supplier of consumer requested "personal" background checks that individuals use as students, jobseekers, renters, volunteers, and consumers who want to avoid identity theft. For more information on how personal background checks can fight identity theft, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

According to an article from the Charlotte Observer, more employers are looking at credit reports during pre-employment background checks, and jobseekers should realize that what they don't know about their own credit reports can and will hurt them.

The Charlotte Observer reports that – especially in a recession – a crippling cycle of unemployment can be created as more companies pull credit reports as they decide what people to hire, a process that can lead to a “Catch 22” situation during background checks where jobseekers need jobs to improve their credit, but can't get jobs because their credit is poor.

According to a 2004 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly half (43 percent) of companies nationwide said they “always” or “sometimes” checked credit reports of jobseekers, the Observer reports, as compared to a similar study in 1998 in which only one-quarter (25 percent) of companies said they “regularly” or “sometimes” checked credit reports of jobseekers.

While only a few states have passed rules limiting how companies use credit reports during background checks on jobseekers, a bill currently in the U.S. House called the ‘Equal Employment for All Act’ (H.R. 3149) would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to prohibit the use of consumer credit checks against prospective and current employees during hiring or firing processes, thus preventing employers from using credit reports as part of pre-employment background checks. However, employers counter that checking credit reports helps companies fully assess jobseekers during pre-employment background checks, especially those who may have access to finances, the Observer reports.

A credit report is a summary of information about a person’s financial history collected by three main credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – and checked by employers, banks, insurers, landlords, cell phone companies, and utilities, among others, before they do business with that person.

Although, according to ConsumerReports.org, consumers find roughly 13 million inaccuracies on their credit reports each year, more than 40 percent of the consumers surveyed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) hadn’t checked their credit reports for errors. Another recent survey by the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) showed that 79 percent of credit reports contained errors of some kind, and over half (54 percent) contained personal information that was misspelled, outdated, or otherwise incorrect.

Jobseekers in particular are advised to check their credit reports so they know what information employers will see BEFORE they see it. The same goes for their criminal background checks. The last thing jobseekers need, especially in these tough economic times, is to have a mistake on their credit report or criminal background check cost them much needed employment.

MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested and applicant supplied “personal” background checks for individuals – offers a service that jobseekers can use to take control of their own personal information and make sure their credit report and background check information is kept up-to-date, accurate, and secure from identity theft and fraud. For more information about how “personal” background checks can help jobseekers find employment, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com