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Identity Thief Allegedly Commits Identity Theft while Awaiting Sentencing for ID Theft

October 28, 2009 12:16 by Tom Ahearn

While many types of identity theft cases have been duly reported on this website, a unique story from New Hampshire tells of an identity thief who allegedly committed identity theft while awaiting sentencing on a conviction for identity theft.

According to SeaCoastOnline.com, Ramie Marston, 40, who was waiting to be sentenced for stealing her nanny's identity to make over $60,000 in fraudulent purchases, allegedly committed identity theft using a businessman's credit card, checks, and debit card to purchas $8,000 in unauthorized goods that included a diamond ring, a puppy, and music downloads.

Marston is also being investigated by police in several areas for a string of alleged identity thefts committed after her guilty pleas in June to three felonies related to identity theft, SeaCoastOnline.com reports. She is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

Identity theft is committed by all types of people. As a result of identity theft cases like this, consumers should be far more wary about protecting their personal information. This particular case shows that some “serial” identity thieves will possibly keep committing identity theft even after prior convictions.

To help protect against identity theft, “personal” background checks – where people perform background checks on themselves – can ensure that personal information is current, accurate, and secure. While many background check firms only service businesses, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested background checks – offers individuals affordable “personal” background check services. Over one million individuals have purchased background checks through MyBackgroundCheck.com. For more information about personal background checks, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

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Tags: identity theft, fraud, personal background check, background check, mybackgroundcheck.com

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GA Bill Would Require In-Home Services Workers to Have Background Checks

September 22, 2009 10:02 by Tom Ahearn

A story from Macon.com tells of a bill currently pending in the Georgia state Legislature that would require employees who work inside the homes of other people – also known as “In-Home Services” workers – to have pre-employment background checks performed on them by their employers.

According to Georgia General Assembly web site, House Bill 263 provides that “any person offering in-home services shall conduct a criminal background investigation of each employee” and that “such persons shall not employ individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes” that would include rape and murder uncovered through the required background checks.

The bill requiring employers to perform background checks on people who work inside other people’s homes was prompted by a 2008 sexual assault of a nanny who was watching a 3-year-old girl at the time of the attack, according to the Macon.com report, and that the accused rapist – Rudolph Valentino Smith, 44, who was released from prison in 2006 after serving 12 years for fatally stabbing a man – worked for a house cleaning company that cleaned many homes in the central Georgia neighborhood, including the one where the alleged crime took place. The nanny escaped further harm by locking herself and the toddler she was watching in a bedroom closet, Macon.com reported, and Smith was later arrested by police and charged with rape.

The bill requiring background checks for workers who enter the homes of others tries to strike a delicate balance between allowing rehabilitated criminals to re-enter the workplace while at the same time protecting the safety of residents through background checks of in-home services workers, Macon.com reported.

MyBackgroundCheck.com is a leading supplier of consumer requested and applicant supplied “personal” background checks for individuals, including background checks for In-Home Services workers. For more information about background checks, 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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Tags: background check, in-home services, nanny, house cleaner, home help, mybackgroundcheck.com

Categories: Concerned Parents | Contractor/Service Worker Background Check | Nanny/Babysitter Background Checks

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Suspected Scam Artist Used Babysitter Ads on Craigslist to Sell Fake Background Checks

September 16, 2009 17:23 by Tom Ahearn

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

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Tags: nanny, babysitter, background check, craigslist, mybackgroundcheck.com

Categories: Job Seekers | Nanny/Babysitter Background Checks

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Nanny Crime Spree Shows Need For Home Help Background Checks

June 5, 2009 10:39 by Tom Ahearn

A recent story from GreenwichTime.com, proves once again the importance of background checks when hiring a nanny, babysitter, au pair, or other live-in home help.

According to the report, a nanny in Connecticut allegedly stole checks from the homes of her employers – moving from job to job and committing a crime at each stop – and even showed up at a local day care to pick up a child after having been let go by the child’s parents months before. After the day care incident, police found the woman working as a nanny for another family and arrested her. She was charged with breach of peace, first-degree larceny, eight counts of third-degree forgery, and eight counts of fraudulent use of an ATM card.

According to police, the woman came to America from Brazil on a work permit and did so well on her interviews at the homes where she worked as a live-in nanny that most families never checked her references or ran a background check, which is how she managed to steal sensitive financial information from the people for whom she worked. In one instance, police said the nanny cashed forged checks worth $16,000.

This nanny is a prime example of how residents need to protect themselves when hiring an in-house employee, particularly one in charge of watching children like a nanny, babysitter, or au pair. When people allow someone into their house, they should know that person’s background. One way to find that information out is to run a background check on that individual.

For families that rely on full-time nannies, this nanny’s story may become more common, especially with the recent slump in the economy. As a result, police said it is vitally important for people to do thorough investigations of their prospective employees in the form of extensive background checks.

The most important steps in hiring a nanny or other live-in help are the interview and background check. The prospective help should fill out a form detailing their work history so references can be fact-checked to ensure they are legitimate. Background checks should be performed by a professional, accredited background check provider to ensure maximum efficiency.

MyBackgroundCheck.com – a leader in consumer-requested and applicant-supplied background checks – offers a comprehensive Home Help Screening service to protect families from the people they hire to work in their home. In many cases, the prospective employee will pay for the background check to help speed up the hiring process. For more information on background check services for live-in home help, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

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Tags: nanny, babysitter, au pair, live-in help, home help, parents, background check, mybackgroundcheck.com

Categories: Concerned Parents | Nanny/Babysitter Background Checks | Personal Background Checks

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Summer No Time for Vacation from Nanny & Babysitter Background Checks

May 22, 2009 10:29 by Tom Ahearn

With schools closing their doors for summer vacation soon, millions of children across the nation will be released for three whole months, leaving many overwhelmed and under-helped parents scrambling to find safe and trustworthy nannies and babysitters to assist with childcare.

One way to find a reliable and experienced nanny or babysitter is with a background check. Nannies and babysitters who are truly interested in the job and who have nothing to hide will not only submit to a background check, but may even help pay for a portion of the cost (or even all of it).

A nanny or babysitter background check is completed by verifying or uncovering background details about the caregiver to be hired such as: true identity (and any aliases used), age, date of birth, address history, phone numbers, criminal records, educational background, driving records, alcohol or drug problems, and credit problems.

If this sounds like too much information to ask for, then welcome to the modern age of being a nanny or babysitter, where even Mary Poppins herself would most likely undergo a thorough background check.

Why?

Because stories of inexperienced and neglectful nannies, babysitters, and au pairs have filled newspapers, televisions, and computer screens lately, the most recent one involving the arrest of a “Manhattan Manny.”

According to a New York Daily News article, parents in some of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods are panicking after a 21-year-old male live-in nanny who supposedly worked for celebrities and high profile families that he met by word of mouth – and possibly without proper background checks – was charged with molesting four boys.

Known as the “Manhattan Manny” on his website, the suspect also had access to hundreds of other young boys in recent years at private schools and summer camps, both in New York and beyond, in addition to his nanny jobs with families, according to a prosecutor in the case.

This is just one more example why parents need to run extensive background checks on a nanny, babysitter, or any person that they will allow to live and work inside their home. So where can parents find a fast, accurate, and thorough background check at a reasonable price?

While most background check providers concentrate on large companies, MyBackgroundCheck.com was a pioneer in "personal" background checks for individuals and has screened more than one million people, including jobseekers, students, tenants, volunteers, and nannies and babysitters.

For more information on MyBackgroundCheck.com’s personal background check services for individuals, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

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Tags: background check, nanny, babysitter, au-pair, mybackgroundcheck.com

Categories: Concerned Parents | Nanny/Babysitter Background Checks

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