Imagine being stopped for a traffic violation in Florida. Now imagine the police officer tells you there is a warrant for your arrest in Pennsylvania. One problem – you have never been to Pennsylvania.

According to a story from the Greeley (CO) Tribune, this imagined scenario was a very real case of identity theft by an illegal alien for Daniel Ortiz, 33, who not only had never been to Pennsylvania but had only been out of Florida once. But the traffic stop was least of Ortiz’s problems with identity theft, for the Tribune also reported:

• He received letters from the Internal Revenue Service claiming that he owed additional taxes for income he received from jobs he worked in a number of states that he had never visited;
• His credit report showed multiple charges – including medical expenses and missed car payments totaling more than $20,000 – that were never paid for, and;
• He applied for a government construction job but was turned down because of his criminal record in Colorado and California, two states he had never visited.

Suspicious that he was a victim of identity theft and that someone was using his identification to find employment, make purchases, and commit crimes, Ortiz – on the advice of a collection agent for a bill that wasn't his – filed a criminal report with the Eustis, Florida Police Department, the Tribune reported.

The investigation found a “Daniel Ortiz” working a construction job in Greeley, Colorado – one who later admitted that his actual name was Jose Carlos Limon, that he purchased Ortiz's personal information years ago, and that he had entered the country illegally and was not a U.S. citizen, the Tribune reported, adding that Limon faces deportation and six felony counts of identity theft and forgery.

While Ortiz’s case had a happy ending, most victims of identity theft never find the person who stole their identity. According to Javelin Research, the number of identity theft victims in the U.S. reached almost 10 million in 2008, an increase of 22 percent over the previous year. Since identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, citizens should do everything they can to protect their identity.

One such protection against identity theft is for individuals to perform “personal” background checks on themselves to see if – like the unfortunate Mr. Ortiz – they have had someone commit crimes, use credit, or gain employment in their name. While most background check companies focus on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com is a pioneer in consumer requested background checks that allow individuals to keep a close watch on their personal information and helps them in preventing criminal identity theft.

For more information on how “personal” background checks can help prevent identity theft, please 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

A recent story about a suspected scam artist who posted non-existent babysitter jobs on the online classified ad site Craigslist and asked applicants to pay for a background check that would never be done serves as a reminder to jobseekers – even babysitters – that in this tough economy criminals and identity thieves will try anything to make money illegally off the search for gainful employment.

According to a report from Fort Wayne, Indiana’s News-Sentinel.com, Fort Wayne Police have arrested a man – 30-year-old Randy A. Hatter from Flint, Michigan – that they believe is behind a multi-state scam that used the online classifieds site Craigslist to post babysitter jobs as a ruse to lure unsuspecting applicants into providing personal information on forms before paying $25 to run background checks that were never performed.

Hatter – who was convicted in 2006 for identity theft and was out on parole at the time of this arrest – was caught in a sting operation by Fort Wayne police, the News-Sentinel reports, after two local victims who happened to know each both responded to the same babysitter job posting on Craigslist, were contacted by Hatter, and then asked for money for a background check.  When the victims realized that they both never heard back from Hatter after giving him money for the background checks, they contacted police.

According to News-Sentinal.com, detectives then answered the babysitter job posting on Craigslist and two female detectives posing as respondents to the ad met Hatter, gave him the $25 for the background check, and police arrested him on three preliminary counts of theft and one of deception.

With the number of unemployed people reaching 15 million according to latest figures, jobseekers need to be wary of scammers who use the search for employment as opportunity to make illegal money. To gain protection in these uncertain times, prospective employees can perform “personal” background checks on themselves to show to potential employers during pre-employment background checks.

While most background check companies focus only on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com offers jobseekers – including babysitters, nannies, and au pairs – the opportunity to perform background checks on themselves to use to find employment. 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. 

NOTE: If you think you were a "Craigslist Babysitter Background Check Scam" victim, call Detective Casey Furge or Detective Joe Lyon at the Fort Wayne Police Detective Bureau at 260-427-1201.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

The old expression "If you want a job done right, do it yourself" could easily apply to many of the nearly 15 million currently unemployed workers who are considering some form of self-employment. However, for those jobseekers who want to work for someone else and get paid for it, “If you want a background check on yourself done right, do it yourself” may be a more suitable expression.

According to the Employment Situation - August 2009 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent in August and the number of unemployed people rose to 14.9 million. With nearly one of ten people unemployed – and another 9.1 million more working part-time because their hours were cut back or they could not find a full-time job – competition for what few available jobs remain is understandably fierce.

With 24 million jobseekers looking for full-time work, employers can and will be very picky when it comes to which applicants they choose out of the deep and talented pool of prospective employees. One popular method employers have of choosing prospective employees is the pre-employment background check. According to 2006 Weapons in the Workplace, a study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 85% of respondents to a survey reported that their organizations conducted pre-employment background checks on potential employees, and nearly all (96%) of those same companies reported using criminal background checks when doing so.

With so much at stake, a simple mistake on a background check can turn the chance of landing a dream job into a nightmare, as it did for one jobseeker who shared the same name, birth date, and social security number with a person whose extensive criminal record would continue to appear during the jobseeker's pre-employment background checks.

Can a background check mistake cost a jobseeker a job? The answer, as in the case of the jobseeker who shared a name and birth date with a criminal, is yes. Jobseekers need to find any and all errors that can appear on background checks, which can include mistaken identities, wrong Social Security numbers (SSNs), identity theft and fraud, and incomplete or illegal information.

One way jobseekers can make sure that their personal background information is accurate is by running a “personal” background check on themselves. Since people are what their personal information says they are in today’s world, prospective employees who will almost surely have to consent to a pre-employment background check would be wise to find out what information will be uncovered beforehand and see that data before their potential employers do. In addition, by performing a “personal” background check on themselves, jobseekers take a pro-active step in their search for employment, stand out from the crowd, and show potential employers they have nothing to hide.

While most background check companies focus only on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in web-based consumer‐requested and applicant supplied background check services – offers jobseekers a way to improve their chances of getting hired through “personal” background checks that gives individuals control over their personal information and the ability to share that information with whomever they choose.

For more information on personal background checks, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1‐800‐503‐2364. To follow us 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

Along with cover letters and résumés, jobseekers in the 21st century will also have their participation in phenomenally popular social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter looked at during pre-employment background checks.

According to a June 2009 CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers, almost half (forty-five percent) of employers reported that they used social networking sites to screen potential employees during background checks, twice as many as the 22 percent who viewed social networking sites in 2008. In addition, eleven percent of employers planned to start using social networking sites during the background check process.

The survey also revealed that the most popular social networking sites for employers who conducted online searches during background checks of job candidates were Facebook (29 percent), LinkedIn (26 percent), MySpace (21 percent), and Twitter (7 percent).

With regard with a particular industries, the survey found jobseekers looking for work in Information Technology (63 percent) and Professional/Business Services (53 percent) were the most likely to have social networking sites screened by potential employers during background checks.

In another finding that should make jobseekers reconsider posting what may be deemed inappropriate material online, the survey showed that over one-third (35 percent) of employers reported they had found content on social networking sites during background checks that caused them to reconsider hiring the candidate. Examples of this "inappropriate" content from jobseekers included:

• Posting provocative photographs or information (53 percent)
• Posting content about drinking or using drugs (44 percent)
• Bad-mouthing previous employer, co-workers, or clients (35 percent)
• Showing poor communication skills (29 percent)
• Making discriminatory comments (26 percent)
• Lying about qualifications (24 percent)
• Sharing confidential information from previous employer (20 percent)

On the positive side, 18 percent of employers said they found content on social networking sites during background checks that led them to hire the candidate, including profiles that showed: the personality to fit within the organization (50 percent), professional qualifications (39 percent), creativity (38 percent), solid communication skills (35 percent), well-roundedness (33 percent), good references from others (19 percent), and that the candidate had received awards (15 percent).

For better or worse, jobseekers in today's Internet Age must realize that their job interviews and background checks can last 24 hours a day and 7 says a week due to the inter-connectedness and easy availability of social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter, among others.

Some jobseekers are taking pro-active steps to stand out from the crowd by ordering "personal" background checks on themselves to show potential employers. MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in providing consumer requested and applicant supplied background checks on individuals – can help jobseekers provide employers with accurate and current information in a safe and secure manner.

For more information on how personal background checks can help jobseekers gain employment, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com