A recent breaking news video report from CNN’s Gerri Willis shows a woman describing how her husband’s dream job turned into a nightmare because of false information found on his pre-employment background check, a problem that “personal” background check provider MyBackgroundCheck.com may have prevented.
The woman – who asked that her identity be hidden in order to avoid further problems for her husband – told Willis that she was shocked to discover that her husband’s background check revealed two felony convictions – and the job offer was gone, even though the records belonged to another man with the same name and the same birthday as her husband.
According to CNN, the background check report came from ChoicePoint, one of the nation’s largest commercial data brokers that sell personal information obtained from public and private records to employers and law enforcement.
The case described in the CNN report is not unusual, as many background checks contain errors and inaccuracies. Robert Mather, CEO of MyBackgroundCheck.com, a leading provider of “personal” background checks that consumers can perform on themselves to keep their personal information current, claimed that a recent study showed that nearly one in five disputed background checks contained false information.
“Over one million people have purchased background checks through MyBackgroundCheck.com,” said Mather. “We empower individuals take control of their personal information and correct any mistakes before others, including potential employers, see them. We help people take a pro-active approach to the problem of mistakes on background checks, and help them avoid being the victim of identity theft and lost job opportunities.”
“With an account from MyBackgroundCheck.com, jobseekers can make sure no errors or inaccuracies exist in their background checks and find out if they have been victimized by identity theft,” Mather added. “According to recent research, identity theft and fraud increased 22 percent in 2008, affecting nearly ten million Americans.”
In the CNN report, privacy advocate Lillie Coney from the Electronic Privacy Information Center said that most people have no clue what is included in data bases that can include incorrect and outdated information. “Let’s say there was an arrest based on faulty information and it was resolved and there was no conviction,” she explained to Gillis. “They still have that original arrest record that may be in a data based somewhere that is passed along repeatedly to people outside of your knowledge.”
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who has introduced legislation to make databases more accessible and more secure, told CNN’s Gillis he believes most consumers don’t know how exposed they are. “I want to know what is in my records,” Leahy said. “I want to know how to stop misinformation on records. And today people cannot do that.”
And while the woman in the CNN story says her husband ended up getting the job after ChoicePoint corrected the mistake, she is still concerned: “This will happen again,” she told Willis, especially if her husband ever needs a background check again if he changes jobs. “That record is out there.”
For more information on how consumers – including jobseekers – can use personal background checks to protect their personal information from errors, inaccuracies, and identity theft, please visit http://www.mybackgroundcheck.com/DontBeAVictim.
Follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.
Related Blog: Can’t Get a Job? The Five Most Common Mistakes in Background Checks May Be Stopping You
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!
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:
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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;
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His credit report showed multiple charges – including medical expenses and missed car payments totaling more than $20,000 – that were never paid for, and;
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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
*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!
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
*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!