Partial court document below this blog

LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors say ESPN reporter Erin Andrews' peephole stalker ran background checks on other female sports reporters.

Although no other celebrities were secretly filmed by Michael Barrett, about 16 other women were "victimized ... in almost precisely the same way that he victimized" Andrews, according to a sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

The names of those who were allegedly the targets of Barrett's "long-term obsession," other than Andrews, were not revealed in court papers, but prosecutors described them as "female sports reporters, as well as other television personalities."

The memo also includes a list of the titles Barrett gave to his hotel peephole videos of Andrews -- "Erin Andrews Spectacular Butt," "Erin Andrews in a Pink Thong" and "Erin go WOW!!"

The court filing notes that Andrews wants Barrett to pay her about $335,000 in restitution.

The stalking has had a "devastating impact on ... Andrews' emotional state, and the emotional distress caused to her and her family cannot be overstated. She has lived in fear for her physical safety," the prosecution's filing document states.

Barrett, 48, of the Chicago area, has pleaded guilty to one federal count of interstate stalking and is scheduled to be sentenced March 8.

In his plea agreement, Barrett admitted surreptitiously shooting videos of Andrews in the nude through peepholes in hotel rooms in Nashville, Tenn.; Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee, and posting the footage on the Internet after trying to sell it to the Los Angeles-based entertainment news site TMZ.com.

At the guilty plea hearing in December, Andrews said that ever since the footage became public, "I am subject to crude comments. I walk into stadiums and fans make crude comments to me. I have nightmares about this sexual predator."

She added, "I hope he never sees the light of day again so nobody else has to go through this."

Barrett was arrested Oct. 2 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

After the allegations came to light, investigators discovered the peephole had been altered in the door to a Nashville hotel room where Andrews stayed in September 2008, according to prosecutors.

Barrett had specifically requested and stayed in the hotel room adjacent to Andrews, prosecutors said. He had also registered at hotels in Columbus and Milwaukee where Andrews stayed in July and September 2008, according to a court filing.

TMZ.com was offered the videos of the victim for an undisclosed amount via e-mail messages that later were linked back to Barrett, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Barrett's attorney, David K. Willingham, has said his client had lost his insurance job and may lose his home as a result of the case.

Until he is sentenced next month, Barrett remains free on $100,000 bond under conditions that include house arrest, electronic monitoring and restrictions on his use of the telephone and the Internet.

Victims of identity theft have to endure many problems in connection with the crime, but recently an identity theft victim in New York who tried to get married was surprised to find out someone else had already tied the knot using the identity theft victim's name.

According to a story in the New York Post, the identity theft victim – Sara Benitez, 44, from Queens – went to the marriage office and was shocked to discover records showed she was already married to man she had never met.

Plagued by identity theft since 1992, Benitez later discovered an identity thief – Araceilis Cherico, 46 – had stolen her identity and used it to get married, divorced, ignore parking tickets, and even collect a refund from the IRS, the Post reported.

While Cherico will be sentenced to 60 days in jail and have to pay thousands in back taxes and penalties, the DA's office is helping Benitez get her “marriage” expunged so she can marry her long-time boyfriend, according to the Post.

The nation’s leading provider of applicant-supplied background checks, MyBackgroundCheck.com offers consumers are variety of “personal” background check options – in which individuals perform background checks on themselves – to use as jobseekers, students, volunteers, and tenants, all while protecting themselves against identity theft. For more information on how personal background checks can help prevent identity theft, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 800-503-2364.

Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MybackgroundChk.

pr@mybackgroundcheck.com

With “friends” like these – phishers on Facebook committing identity theft – who needs enemies?

Recently, identity thieves went on a “phishing” expedition on social networking site Facebook.com by using the “bait” of fake login pages to “catch” usernames and passwords. They spammed Facebook users through the site’s mail system with one-line messages containing a link to “fbaction.net,” a site that mimicked Facebook’s login screen. When users tried to login, the identity thieves stole their Facebook credentials, thus allowing them login as them and spam everyone on their Friend list.

This attack was only the latest on Facebook, and won’t be the last. Earlier this year, another Facebook user had his account hacked and his online identity stolen. Identity thieves changed his Facebook page to say he needed urgent help and hit up his friends for money. One “real” friend sent them over $1,000.

With over 66 million active users – and almost 250,000 new people signing up every day – Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networking websites in the world. At the same time, it is also a prime target for identity thieves and a variety of identity theft crimes. The format is ripe for phishers because Facebook regularly contacts its users through e-mail, and includes links in those e-mails to login pages. Phishers simply imitate Facebook e-mails and send users to counterfeit login pages that steal passwords.

Keeping your online identity and personal information secure and accurate is becoming more difficult in the Internet age. Security firms are seeing a sharp uptick in attacks on social networks, especially in the amount of phishing for login credentials. Individuals must constantly be on guard against identity theft.

The first step in protecting yourself is to protect your most sensitive personal information. Is it secure, current, and accurate? Now you can find out with a “personal” background check on yourself. While most background check companies only serve large companies, MyBackgroundCheck.com helps individuals who may want their own background checks to take control of their own personal information.

The company also provides background check services for online reputation management. By ordering your own social network or online dating background check and requesting that your new “friends” do the same, you validate both your identity and theirs, and can start your relationship with confidence.

MyBackgroundCheck.com also has recently added new features, resources, and interactivity to its site:

• New Features: Users can invite others to view background checks, share background checks with other network users, access recent activity easily, and send messages to others in network.
• New Resources: Frequently asked questions about background checks and legal issues with background checks.
• New Interactivity: Stay up to date with background check news, receive special offers, display your public profile, and share your ideas and suggestions on how to improve your user experience.

For more information on “personal” background checks, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

With the immense popularity of online social networking gathering spots such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, companies that feature background check services should follow suit and make their own websites more interactive, user-friendly, and "social" to attract online customers.

A monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at the top online properties for March 2009 by comScore, Inc. and Media Metrix service revealed that Twitter.com more than doubled its visitor base to over 9 million and ranked as the top-gaining web property for the month. Meanwhile, Facebook.com moved up one spot in the ranking to #9 this month with 61.2 million visitors.

Members of these fast-growing social networking sites should consider ordering "personal" background checks for themselves. Why? Because they will need background checks as jobseekers, students, tenants, volunteers, home help, contractors, dates, and online "friends." Even if they are just concerned individuals interested in preventing identity theft and keeping their personal information secure and accurate, an individual background check is a good idea.

With the number of individual background checks on the rise, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a leading provider of consumer-requested and applicant-supplied background checks worldwide – has re-designed its website to include some exciting new features, resources, and interactivity.

New Features:

• Access common features through the My Account dashboard.
• Invite others to view your investigative background check reports.
• Share your background check reports with users in your network.
• Access your recent activity panel quickly and easily.
• Share your public profile or view other public profiles.
• Search for other MyBackgroundCheck.com users.
• Send messages to others within your own network.

New Resources: 

• Background checks and the law.
• Frequently asked questions about background checks.

New Interactivity:

• Contact Preferences: Stay up to date with background check news, industry tips, and receive special offers for MyBackgroundCheck.com products and services.
• Public Profile: Your public profile is displayed when other MyBackgroundCheck.com users search our network.
• Feedback: Your feedback is of great value to MyBackgroundCheck.com. Our goal is to empower you to share ideas and to make suggestions for how we may improve your user experience. We will make every effort to accommodate your requests and serve your needs.

With a MyBackgroundCheck.com Account, members can order customized background checks, share the results with anyone, and control their information. For more information, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

A recent article by a Singles' Guide asked the question: “Should You Background Check Your Date?”

The author told the story of a recently divorced single mother of two in her twenties who joined a dating website and accepted a date with a man who was attractive, polite, well spoken, and nicely dressed. However, when the woman mentioned her date’s name to her co-worker the next day, she was told never to see him again because he was a convicted felon and had spent several years in jail.

When the woman confronted the man on their second date with what her co-worker had claimed, he admitted that he had been in jail three times, once for robbery and the other times for drugs – convictions that would have shown up on a routine background check. Although she felt like he deserved a second chance, the woman had two small children to think about and wasn’t willing to risk their safety, so she decided to break off the budding relationship. She was left wondering if she should background check all of her future dates.

Stories like this are more common than most people think, especially in today's technology-oriented society, where daily socialization has taken to the computer. With social networking forums like MySpace and Facebook – and a plethora of dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com – you can instantly be connected to individuals around the globe. These communication bases can pose a great risk if you don't know who you are "connecting" with, and background checks are becoming a normal and necessary step for meeting people online.

MyBackgroundCheck.com – a leading provider of personal background checks for individuals – offers a solution to help you decrease risks from predators while increasing your online reputation management with affordable, accurate, and secure background checks. By ordering your own social network or online dating background check and requesting that your contacts do the same, you can validate both your identity and theirs, and proceed into your relationship with confidence.

To order MyBackgroundCheck.com’s social network or online dating background check, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com/SocialNetworking.aspx. To contact us about other background screening packages, please go to www.mybackgroundcheck.com/ContactUs.aspx. For more information about our background check services for jobseekers, tenants, and families, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com