A report from ESPN.com reveals that while the New York Yankees were celebrating their record 27th World Series with a victory parade, some "overzealous" fans apparently got carried away and tossed unshreded documents containing sensitive personal data such as Social Security numbers out of windows instead of more traditional confetti.

An auditor attending the victory parade for the 2009 World Series champion Yankees told The New York Post he found unshredded documents containing sensitive personal data – including Social Security numbers, financial information, pay stubs, court files, and balance sheets – in the mountains of shredded paper tossed from skyscrapers by office workers as the baseball players rode through Manhattan.

The founder of one financial firm said his company had reprimanded one “overzealous” employee for throwing records containing personal data out the window that should have been shredded, ESPN.com and the Post reported, and he was just one of several fans who apparently began tossing files containing personal data out windows when they couldn't get their hands on regular confetti.

While one can understand the enthusiasm of the crowd, personal data and the privacy of individuals should be protected at all times by companies to help prevent identity theft and fraud – even during a victory parade.

MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested background checks – helps individuals perform “personal” background checks on themselves to keep the personal data contained in their criminal background checks current, secure, and accurate. For more information on personal background checks help protect personal data, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. Follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

An article in the New York Times, “A Free Credit Score Followed by a Monthly Bill”, points out the simple irony of a website called FreeCreditReport.com – best known for its entertaining television commercials featuring a band consisting of three slacker friends singing songs about ruined credit report scores while waiting tables dressed as pirates or performing at a Renaissance Faire – that may not actually be free and could charge customers $14.95 per month.

According to IMPORTANT INFORMATION on the FreeCreditReport.com website, when consumers order their free credit report they also begin a free trial membership with a credit report monitoring service and will be billed $14.95 every month if they don't cancel the membership within a 7-day trial period. The website also discloses that, “under a new Federal law” (the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, or FACTA, of 2003), consumers have the right to receive a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies – Experian (which owns FreeCreditReport.com), Equifax, and TransUnion – and to request their free annual credit reports consumers must go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Even with information about free credit reports available, credit report monitoring services are approaching one billion dollars in sales with nine million people spending between $650 million to $700 million annually, according to the Times article. To end the confusion over free credit reports, the Times reports that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has tried for years to get Experian to follow disclosure requirements for its “free credit report” ads and even asked Experian to give it the FreeCreditReport.com URL, but to no avail. So the FTC created its own site at FreeCreditReport.gov that includes videos spoofing the FreeCreditReport.com commercials.

Most recently, Senator Charles E. Schumer (D - NY), issued a news release asking the FTC to force FreeCreditReport.com and other companies like it to give away the credit report before asking for customers’ credit card numbers to make clear to consumers that the sites intended to charge them for credit report monitoring and not to confirm their identification. The FTC also has proposed new rules to prevent deceptive marketing of so-called “free credit reports” by February 2010, the Times reports.

The bottom line? Consumers should never forget the Latin phrase Caveat emptor (“Let the buyer beware”) when making any kind of purchase. While – according to another old saying – there may be “no such thing as a free lunch,” there apparently is such a thing as a “free credit report” as long as you know where to get it (or remember to cancel your free trial membership in time).

Along with credit reports, consumers should also be aware of the contents of their criminal background checks. While most background check companies focus only on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested background checks – allows individuals to perform “personal” background checks on themselves that help kept personal information is accurate, current, and secure. For more information on personal background checks, 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.

An error on a background check may prevent a prospective employee from getting hired for work, but could an error on a background check get an already hired employee fired from a job?

The answer is “Yes” according to an article in the Baltimore Sun that tells the story of a woman in Maryland who was fired from her job after an error on a government background check mistakenly deemed her “unsuitable” for work on a government contract even though she had no criminal record.

According to the Sun, Eschol Amelia “Amy”  Studnitz, 59, lost her $58,000 a year accounting job at Corporate Mailing Services (CMS) in July because a background check investigation for the Social Security Administration (SSA) – the government agency CMS had won a contract to handle mail for  – was returned as unsuitable for the low-level (Level 1) security clearance needed for all employees at the CMS facility in Arbutus, Maryland.

However, the Sun reports that the SSA wrote a follow-up letter to CMS in August reversing its decision on the background check so that Studnitz could work on the new contract, but Studnitz was not reinstated by her former employer due to reorganizing and supposed performance shortfalls or hired elsewhere in this tough job market. Studnitz has also asked Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R - MD) to look into her case, and Bartlett is also considering legislation to address future similar situations where inaccurate government criminal background checks are the cause of action for loss of jobs for government work, according to the Sun.

With background checks becoming increasingly common, the Sun report on Studnitz’s firing shows the impact that glitches in databases used during the background check process can have on employees, employers, and even the government. While firings based on mistakes in background checks are relatively rare, errors and inaccuracies on background checks do occur and should be avoided at all costs – especially when the cost includes employment. Some jobseekers are literally taking background check investigations into their own hands by ordering “personal” background checks on themselves to make sure their personal information is accurate, current, and secure.

While most background check companies focus only on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested background checks – offers both jobseekers and current employees the opportunity to perform personal background checks on themselves to protect their personal information. For more information on personal background checks, 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 in USA TODAY, screening volunteers with criminal background checks has become common in many volunteer organizations, and background checks are seen as an effective way to protect children, the elderly, and the disabled from sex offenders and people with criminal pasts — and protect volunteer organizations from liability over negligent recruiting.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor's "VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES,  2008" report reveals that approximately 61.8 million people (or 26.4 percent of the population) volunteered at least once between September 2007 and September 2008.

If volunteers in America work with children, the elderly, and the disabled, they most likely undergo criminal background checks that look for "red flags" such as drug felonies, domestic violence, child abuse, and sex crimes, USA TODAY reports. Using background checks on volunteers has grown steadily since 1993, when the National Child Protection Act became law and enabled organizations to use criminal background checks to screen out volunteers with criminal records, according to USA TODAY, and some states have enacted their own laws concerning volunteer background checks:

• Florida: A 2005 state law requires school districts to run potential volunteers through the sexual predator and offender database.
• Minnesota: A 2008 state law made background checks mandatory for volunteers who work with children, the elderly, the disabled, and other vulnerable populations.
• Ohio: A 2001 state law encourages youth organizations to require background checks for volunteers.
• Oregon: A 2001 state law authorizes the State Police to conduct national background checks on people volunteering to work with children, the elderly and the disabled.

Ensuring the safety and security of members and the community should be a top priority for volunteer organizations, and they need a volunteer background check program in place that meets the specific requirements of for volunteer screening, MyBackgroundCheck.com — a pioneer in the consumer requested and applicant supplied background check industry — has developed a unique and comprehensive Volunteer Tracking System (VTS) for volunteer background checks that tracks volunteer applicants that effectively manages risk, significantly reduces volunteer background check costs, and protects volunteers, volunteer organizations, and the community.

For more information about MyBackgroundCheck.com's Volunteer Tracking System (VTS) for volunteer background checks, visit www.volunteertrackingsystem.com, call 1-800-503-2364, or request information. Take a Volunteer Screening and Risk Management Nonprofit Organization Survey. Follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com