An eye-opening video report by CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve (watch here) shows just how public our supposedly private information can be online.
The CNN report cites two examples – one somewhat embarrassing and the other downright dangerous – about people who discovered that pictures they posted online had reached far more people than originally intended.
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A newly-married man posted intimate pictures of his Hawaiian wedding on social networking site Facebook to share with “friends,” but when he mentioned it on micro-blogging site Twitter, a link was attached that gave more than 3,000 “followers” access to the photos.
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A mother was horrified to find a picture of her young daughter that she posted on Flickr – an online photo sharing application – used in an improperly suggestive way on another website. When she posted a warning, strangers used the Internet to find her phone number and home address.
To show how easily available information is online, CNN gave the mother’s name – with her permission – to a private investigator who specializes in harvesting information from the Internet; he found 100 pages of possible links in less than two minutes.
Of course, posted photos are just the tip of the iceberg that is data privacy in the Internet age. CNN reports that more and more Americans are making their private information public on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube, and warns that any time users hit the "send" button, their information is no longer their own.
While many websites try to provide customers with the tools they need to protect their personal information, the bottom line is that people are going to have to deal with minimal privacy in the future, according to the CNN report, which concludes with the following advice: “Privacy is dead. Get over it.”
However, while privacy may be dead, more people are realizing that personal data – including personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, address, birthday, and social security number (SSN) – needs to be protected at all costs and at every moment. One way individuals can view their own personal data and make sure that the information is current, secure, and accurate is by performing a "personal" background check on themselves.
While most background check providers only service employers and companies, MyBackgroundCheck.com – the nation’s leader in consumer requested and applicant supplied background checks – is at the forefront of the growing movement empowering individuals to take control of their personal information through personal background checks that they may use as jobseekers, students, volunteers, and consumers worried about identity theft.
To learn more about personal background checks from MyBackgroundCheck.com, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.
pr@mybackgroundcheck.com
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An article in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) – “More Job Seekers Scramble To Erase Their Criminal Past” – reveals that many jobseekers looking for work in a tight job market are rushing to legally clear criminal records that would appear on pre-employment background checks that delve deeply into their sometimes checkered pasts.
According to statistics cited in the WSJ article, millions of American jobseekers fear their criminal pasts will show up on background checks. While over 50% of American men had been arrested in 1967, that figure is now an estimated 60% due to arrests made in connection with domestic violence and illegal drugs, with the annual number of arrests for possession of marijuana more than tripling to 1.8 million from 1980 to 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
At the same time, the WSJ article notes that background checks have become more affordable and commonplace since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and more than 80% of companies performed background checks in 2006 compared with fewer than 50% in 1998, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In addition, the article asserts that background checks can help lessen employer liability from workplace theft – which cost retailers over $15 billion last year according to the National Retail Federation – and workplace violence that costs billions more in legal costs and lost work hours.
In the WSJ article, two men – both veterans – were used as examples of jobseekers with criminal pasts affecting current employment opportunities:
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An Air Force veteran was refused temporary employment because a background check by the temp agency turned up a 1986 conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (when threatened, he once pretended a silver brush was a knife). More than 20 years after a "no judgment" finding by the judge and a $60 fine, the man is still fighting to erase the arrest from criminal records and background checks.
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A veteran turned jobseeker back from Afghanistan after serving in the Army for 15 months was unable find work with the New York City Police Department because of a 2002 conviction of illegal possession of a gun found on a background check, this despite scoring in the 98th percentile on his civil-service exam. The man is now serving another overseas tour.
With unemployment is currently above 10% and potential employers choosing from the largest talent pool in decades, the WSJ article clearly shows that a growing number of American jobseekers hope to boost their odds in a tough job market with “clean” background checks by clearing their criminal records of minor crimes through legal means, a process known as “expungement” in which official records of minor crimes may be shredded, erased, sealed, or blocked from view.
Along with expungement, jobseekers can make sure that their information on their criminal records is current and accurate by running “personal” background checks on themselves to see what potential employers will see. By purchasing their own background checks, jobseekers take a pro-active step in their search for employment, stand out from the crowded field of applicants, and show potential employers that they have nothing to hide. While most background check companies focus only on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested and applicant supplied background checks – offers jobseekers the opportunity to perform “personal” background checks on themselves to help them find employment in a tight job market.
To learn how personal background checks help jobseekers find work, 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
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
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
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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
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!