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:
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Move away from home & family;
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Attend schools with thousands of NEW classmates (i.e. strangers);
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Rent apartments and housing;
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Open individual bank accounts;
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Receive first credit & debit cards;
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Travel without supervision;
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Apply for employment; and,
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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:
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Keep Social Security Card or Social Security Number (SSN) – the most desired information in identity theft – in a safe place. Do not carry it.
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Don’t share SSNs with anyone without knowing why they need it. Schools should use student identification numbers instead of the SSNs.
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Safely store laptop containing personal information when not in use.
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Be wary of identity theft exposure while on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube & Twitter.
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Never loan a driver’s license or identification card to anyone. They could use it as an ID card when stopped by the police.
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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
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With only weeks left in the summer vacation, and another year of school set to begin in the fall, a recent survey finds that college students may be putting their parents at risk when it comes to identity theft.
The Campus Security Survey of 1,000 college students and an equal number of parents – conducted by uni-ball pens and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) – revealed that less than a quarter (21 percent) of students interviewed were concerned about identity theft, while nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of parents believed students were at moderate-to-high risk for identity theft.
According to college security expert Robert Siciliano, students who ignore their own personal security are not only putting themselves at risk for identity theft, but also their parents as well. It is a common practice among college students to use their parents’ names, bank account numbers, and other personal information to co-sign loans and leases, write tuition and housing checks, and register online to receive grades. When identity theft occurs, the parents’ personal data – not students’ – is compromised.
While nearly all (89 percent) parents said they had discussed safety measures with their students before they left for school, some warnings have fallen on deaf ears. The students’ lack of concern over identity theft is evident from the finding that 40 percent said they provided their social security numbers online.
According to the ITRC, 30 percent of all identity theft complaints come from 18- to 29-year-olds.
MyBackgroundCheck.com offers consumers "personal" background checks of themselves to keep their personally identifiable information (PII) secure and accurate. To learn how personal background checks help stop 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
*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!
This post was contributed by Courtney Phillips, who writes about top rated online colleges and universities. She welcomes your feedback at CourtneyPhillips80@gmail.com.
With the economy in utter turmoil, many people are out there pounding the pavement hoping to find a newer or better job these days. Recent statistics have shown that applicants for positions have risen in some industries by more than 500% from last year. With this staggering amount of people actively seeking employment, many employers are turning to background checks than before.
If you are in the process of securing employment, there are a few reasons why you might want to do your own background check. These reasons are expanded upon in the following brief article.
Why Run a Background Check on Yourself?
There are many reasons that you may want to run a background check, but the most important reason is to ensure that things are accurate concerning the public record. Checking with various departments and institutions will ensure that you are not misrepresented on paper. Often, human error has a lot to do with blemishes on your records and remedying these problems will ultimately save you time and trouble down the line.
Get a Copy of Your Driving Records
Contact your state’s DMV headquarters and request a driving record. If you have been ticketed or issued warnings, these items may be present on your driving record. Make sure that any tickets that have been settled are properly annotated and take care of any discrepancies by following the guidelines set by the DMV in your state.
Even Credit Can Harm You
Although it may seem unfair, a lot of companies run a full credit report on you when you apply for a job. You can either get your credit reports from all three major reporting bureaus or write in for physical copies of your credit report by mail. Once you have examined the reports, look for discrepancies or anything that may impede your ability to obtain employment. Try your best to dispute or remedy problems as necessary to improve your name on paper.
Be Proactive
This is a proactive step to know what you’re up against when it comes to background requirements for a job. Knowledge is power, so even if you are unable to change anything on your record you will at least know what your potential employer is looking at. This may be useful come interview time if you have any explaining to do and shows that you are proactive enough to know exactly where you stand. This could mean the difference between getting the job and being passed over.
MyBackgroundCheck.com – one of the first web-based personal background check companies – helps individuals view and manage their personal information, check credit scores, correct inaccuracies, and prevent identity theft and fraud. For more information about our multiple services, please visit http://www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
*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!
While the vast majority of schools currently run background checks on teachers, they aren’t the only people who work closely – in some cases, too closely – with students. The following two cases from the Southern California area will show why schools should have the same standards for criminal background checks on volunteers and contractors as they do for teachers.
In the first case, San Diego-area school officials were forced to review their policies for background checks on volunteers after they learned an un-registered 63-year-old sex offender had worked with students for several months as a volunteer music coach. The man was arrested recently on suspicion of failing to register as a sex offender and was taken into custody. Sex-crimes detectives were then notified about possible inappropriate conduct between the man and a student at the school where he worked once a week after regular classes ended.
A background check was never done on the volunteer, admitted a spokesman for the School District, since the district's policy leaves it up to school principals to order background checks on volunteers “when appropriate.” However, there are no clear guidelines to determine when a background check is appropriate. State education law requires schools to do background checks only on employees, not volunteers, unless the school makes a specific request.
This was not the first time the man had been accused of failing to register as a sex offender, as that was among the charges facing him in 1999 in connection with the molestation of two teenage boys. He pleaded guilty in June of that year to two counts of child molestation.
The second case concerned an outside contractor for a school in the San Gabriel area who put on an astronomy program at an elementary school. Although he had a criminal record that included a felony and a lewd conduct conviction, the contractor passed a background check conducted by a company that books sub-contractors to put on educational presentations at schools around the country. Background checks were done on all contractors by a background screening service and the contractor's name came back clear. However, this particular background screening service had been reported by consumers for delivering incomplete background checks.
The contractor was arrested a day after the assembly and was later tried on charges of inappropriately touching five girls during the presentation (he was later acquitted on three of the four charges, with the fourth ending in a deadlocked jury). At his trial, prosecutors said the accused man's criminal history included a 1996 arrest for lewd conduct while parked in front of a playground, a felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell that same year, and a two year prison sentence, according to court records.
Protecting children and teenagers from the unthinkable should be the top priority for schools, and their background check policies must extend beyond teachers to include volunteers and contractors. MyBackgroundCheck.com – a member of the Pre-employ.com Family of Companies – has performed background check services on volunteers and contractors for the American Red Cross as well as many other non-profit and volunteer organizations. To learn more about MyBackgroundCheck.com’s background check services for volunteers and contractors, please visit www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
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On August 11th, ClarksvilleOnline, published a commentary from a concerned parent about a 120 day sentence a teacher received for raping a student from Northeast High School in Clarksville, Tennessee. If thorough background checks had been conducted by his three former schools, he would not have been working with kids.
The teacher had over a dozen reported rapes from three other schools and a prior conviction. Similar incidents are in the headlines almost daily, which is a clear indication that schools are not taking background checks seriously when hiring teachers.
Background checks are necessary in making accurate and effective hiring decisions, particularly with teachers, day care providers, coaches, counselors, or anyone working with kids.
Sex offenders are released from prisons every day and integrated into our society. Many of these offenders serve less time than non-violent criminals.
If you haven’t inquired about background checks at your schools and other youth organizations, here are some key background check searches that you should ask about:
- Social Security Trace – provides information on names used and where the person lived
- State and Federal Criminal History – searches all state and federal criminal records
- County Criminal Search – pulls county court records from the counties where the person lived
- Sex Offender Search – searches state and federal sex offender records
- Past-employment Verifications – contacts former employers directly
For more information and resources on background checks that will help protect you and your children, please visit http://www.pre-employ.com/ or www.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!