The Importance of Background Checks

Potential investors aren?t just looking for good ideas. When they lend someone their money, they?re also concerned with the person?s character.

Why character? Because a person can be brilliant, but he can also be brilliantly fraudulent. The world is, unfortunately, full of scam artists, who use their charm and intelligence to loop na?ve investors into signing the checks, and then running off with them.

Aside from the scam artists, there are the criminals who use what seems like a perfectly legitimate business operation to launder the money earned from illegal activities like drug dealing or white slavery. Here, profits have nothing to do with it?it?s ethics. Would you want to be associated with a criminal? Would you want your money to go to supporting a criminal activity? And would you put your reputation at risk by being marked as an ?associate? of someone who is known for breaking the law?

That is why it?s important to do a background check on anyone who has approached you to do business with him. Don?t be fooled by his charm, his credentials, or even the marvellous idea that he claims will earn you more money than you?ve ever dreamed of. A background check is still important.

Sadly, very few people do background checks, putting more attention to the business plan than the background of the person presenting it. They are distracted by the numbers, and impressed by the forecasts, which is exactly what a scam artist or criminal is trying to achieve. They are very good at this game and can fool you into thinking that everything is perfect?after all, they?re professional liars. So don?t just ?trust your instincts?. Instincts are unreliable. Only a real background check, with information that has been gathered and collated, with official approval that someone is legitimate or not, can completely protect you.

You can ask for a background check from accredited organizations that keep a record of criminals from all over the world. These organizations have their databases updated by the governments and police groups, who regularly inform them of anyone who has a record of breaking the law.

Of course, many people will change their names. However, background checks can also derive their analysis from biographical information (usually found in the resume or CV) or even the photos.

You should also make it a point to ask for references. Even if the person does not have a criminal background, he may be exaggerating his skills. If he says he worked in a particular company, call up the HR department. Insist on talking to his former supervisor. You can also look into the other business he has set up. Does he have a good track record of handling money, following objectives, resolving crises and problems? This person is managing your money! You have to know that he is competent and reliable. You wouldn?t hire anyone without looking at his CV and the same holds true for those who you ?hire? as the person who will be managing your investment.

Resources.eu.com is an online resource centre covering many topics including business and background checks.

California Background Check Procedures

A California background check is carried out by an employer for a number of reasons, though the major reason is probably the increase in the number of negligent hiring lawsuits being brought before the courts. However, employee screening in California has specific restrictions that all employers should be aware of.

If an employee harms anybody in some way as result of their employment, and it can be shown that the employer could reasonably have been expected to have foreseen the problem, then the employer can be held legally responsible for the act that caused the harm.

Examples of such harm are assault in the workplace by someone with a history of violent conduct, injury through negligence or poor training by somebody that falsified their resumes to lead an employer to believe that they were suitably qualified for a job, and even injury to shareholders of a company brought to its knees due to the unacceptable decisions or actions of an improperly qualified accountant.

The employment of an accountant with a previous conviction for embezzlement and a poor employment history, that was not picked up through employee screening, could amount to negligent hiring should the company subsequently fail due to embezzlement of company funds and poor accountancy standards.

The increased exposure of terrorism and child abductions and abuse has also prompted employers to carry out suitable background screening of potential employees. It has also been shown that up to 40% of all job applications, resumes and CVs are falsified or contain some element of false information, or downright lies. It is to the employers benefit to carry out background checks on all job applicants that have reached the short list.

It would not be economical to screen all job applicants, but it is certainly justifiable to do so with those from whom the final selection will be made. Moreover, California state law requires a background check to be carried out before employing somebody or work involving the disabled, children, or the elderly.

There are a number of records that may be searched by employers in California. Among these are criminal and court records, education records, certain medical records and workers? compensation claims. Credit records can be checked, as can residential records and even neighbor interviews can be carried out. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and there are many other personal records that employers can have access to, with and without your permission.

California applicants do have some privacy, however, and there are some records that cannot be included in your screening. California?s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act and the California Credit Reporting Agency Act place specific controls on employers and their agents in making personal checks.

After seven years, civil judgments, lawsuits and convictions, accounts placed for collection and any other negative personal information can not be reported to employers. In California, arrest records cannot be accessed at all unless these resulted in a conviction, or the applicant is awaiting trial. Rap sheets created by law enforcement agencies are not accessible unless the applicant has applied for a job in child care, or n law enforcement, security or public utilities departments.

Also in California, an employer can ask questions about job-related convictions, but not on convictions in general. Potential employers in California should be aware of the requirements of the state Acts which, though they cannot counteract the federal requirements, can add to them and restrict the records that a potential employer is allowed to collect about job applicants. Much of this starts with the job application itself.

In general terms, a Californian job application cannot ask for your date of birth, sex or race, nor about your maiden name and any other personal record that is not relevant to the job being offered. It can however ask questions to determine if you are legally able to work, and can only carry out health screening of the disabled to ensure that they are able to carry out the job on offer.

A California background check must be carried out by an investigator who is well aware of California?s state legislation regarding what can and what cannot be investigated. California law offers more protection to the job applicant than straight federal law, and employee screening in California is a specialized job.

Advanced Research http://www.arsbackgrounds.com is made up of a team of experts in HR, Risk Management and Legal Investigations. We provide a free consultation to assist you in mitigating your potential hiring risks.

Reasons For Background Checks on Employees

Do you own a business? Are you responsible for the hiring of firing of employees? Do you also have the responsibility of job assignment and duties and are you the one who is held ultimately responsible for the actions of those working under you? If the buck stops with you, you may want to start doing background checks on your current employee?s as well as future candidates.

The technology is available for us today to find out all kinds of relevant information about the people who work for us as well as those who would like to work for us. This information can be very helpful if deciding if someone is right for the job. For example, a car dealership would not want to hire anyone with a poor driving record because their company car insurance costs would rise dramatically. Most car dealership employees do drive company cars at one time or another. You would also not want to hire anyone with a history of financial problems to handle money. If they have trouble managing their own, they probably won?t be much better at managing yours.

A person who has a history of filing frivolous lawsuits may not be someone you would want working for your company. Although there are lawsuits filed that definitely have merit, if a person is suing someone every chance they get, they may only be interested in easy money. They may not be the best workers or reliable. You may also have concerns about your own companies assets being attacked by a unwarranted lawsuit.

A criminal history or criminal record check is also advised. You would need to be cautious when hiring someone with a history of assault. This could mean an anger management problem. A person who has restraining orders filed against them may also someone whom you would need to use caution in hiring. This could indicate a personality disorder.

All in all, background checks on employee?s ca yield a great deal of very useful information. I believe that current employee?s should be given a chance to explain anything suspicious on their report before any action is taken against them. I also believe that if the offense is minor, and a person is very qualified for a job, you should give them the chance to explain any blemish on their record. A background check should be another tool used in making employment decisions, not the only tool. The old saying that you can?t judge a book by its cover still holds true today. You should only use the information to form a clear picture of who the person is along with every other factor involved, such as work history and the personal interview with the person. I also don?t believe that employee?s with exemplary employment records should be terminated because of a mistake made in their past.

Jennie Crawford is the stay at home mom of two small children. For more information go to http://www.jenniecrawford.com/onlinebackgroundchecks or http://www.jennecrawford.com/workingathome

Tenant Credit Report and Background Checks

If not a common practice, landlords should make it so, to approve prospective tenants only after checking and verifying their credit report and references. Tenant screening alerts one to potential problems before signing of the lease, greatly reducing the risk of entrusting a rental property to problem tenants.

However, before a credit report can be obtained, landlords need to have prospective tenant applicants complete a written application, which should provide all relevant information, such as, name, social security number, etc. required for running credit reports.

But, obtaining the necessary information is not enough, written permission from the applicant to perform a credit check is needed, as well. This could be a clause in the application form or a separate form authorizing the landlord to run a credit check, which the applicant will have to sign before a landlord can go ahead and obtain a credit report.

If a landlord has a large number of applicants for his / her rental property, credit checks can prove to be fairly expensive. Therefore, a landlord can request a prospective tenant to cover the cost. It helps to know beforehand the type of credit report needed, including the agency charges for providing it, so as to be able to request the correct amount from the applicants.

There are many agencies in the business of providing credit checks and other screening services, and while some require a membership fee, there are others who charge only for each report. A landlord of a large rental complex, who has many applicants, would be better of registering as a member of one of these agencies, such as, www.e-renter.com, saving more money due to bulk discounts members are offered.

www.e-renter.com offers many different kinds of services from credit reports, criminal records, evictions records, and FCRA compliant declination letters, online submission to collections, automated decision-making, and how to accept a web based application from your own site. With online access to www.e-renter.com, landlords can order and review reports in seconds.

There are no monthly fees, no minimum billing amounts and no annual fees at www.e-renter.com, one only pays for reports ordered, from consumer credit reports, criminal record searches, eviction histories, ID verifications, business credit reports, etc., including allowing members to generate FCRA compliant declination letters, do online submissions to a collections agency, accept web based rental applications, use decision tables to qualify applicants, and more. Credit reports complete with FICO scores, known credit patterns, employment histories, in addition to the usual information on liens, account balances, and pending judgments are all available at www.e-renter.com.

Utilizing the services of a screening agency helps reduce the time a landlord would have to spend on checking prospective tenant backgrounds, clearing more time for applicant processing and property management.

On a cautionary note, applicants should not be judged solely on the basis of their credit reports. Credit reports while providing valuable insights, do not give the whole picture, as there is no one, who has never run into a rough patch in their life.

To know more, visit our website http://www.e-renter.com

E-Renter USA Ltd is a Consumer Reporting Agency with access to the Experian, Equifax and TransUnion Databases. We have 24/7 online direct access to consumer and business credit files as well as numerous other databases relating to credit, criminal, eviction, driving records, property deed records, assessor records

What's the best background check software?

There are several background check softwares available online. Most of them are available in a similar price range. However, what sets good background check software apart from the myriad others are features such as:

* Ease of download and compatibility: The software should be easy to download and run instantly. Free and timely software updates should be installed automatically and the software should be compatible with the different Internet-related software and operating systems.

* Online help: The vendor's website should have detailed FAQ and Help sections that explain the manner in which the software is to be used; tips and tutorials are provided and customer queries are answered.

* Ease of use: A good software should be easy to use, with query fields designed to return the most pertinent results for a given search.

* Legal to use: The software should be completely legal for use in all manner advertised by the company. Its sources of information should be verifiable and information it dispenses should be obtained legally.

There are other factors too that distinguish a good background check software; these include a well-updated database that draws from various resources. Also, the databases accessed have to be relevant to the type of background checks provided otherwise looking up a background is likely to turn into an exercise in futility. The background check software should facilitate checking of criminal records; looking up one's own family history; locate listed as well as unlisted phone numbers; obtain information on birth, death, and social security numbers, find people by name, phone number; or email.

Good background check software should make it worthwhile for employers who invest time and money in it and prefer it over agencies that offer a similar service. This means that it should enable accurate screening of prospective employees and provide information on their credit scores, criminal and driving records.

There's a plethora of services that properly created background check software connected to a database can offer. These would cover locating individuals based on their past residence, school of graduation, and year of military retirement. Greater to which a database can go back in time better are the chances of coming up with information on a lost acquaintance or colleague. There are softwares that also help people in doing a background check on organizations worldwide so one can have a fair idea of their business ethics, legal opinions, and lists of fugitives so that one can do a background check on anyone who arouses suspicion in the neighborhood.

Thus, the best software would be the one that provides reliable information on individuals, property and real estate, bankruptcies and lien, criminals, and any kind of information that is available in the public domain.

Stanley Alpin recommends Background Check Guide for more information on the best background check software.

Employee Criminal Background Check

Employee criminal background checks have become a compulsory part of the interview process. This is because the employee might be liable for an inattentive hiring charge if the employee turns out to have a criminal, drug abuse, or sexual harassment conviction in their background that was not revealed because the employer neglected to conduct a criminal background records search before employment. Any inappropriate or indecent acts carried out by the employee will give the other employees a right to blame the employer.

A few background checks that are conducted as a part of pre-employment screening are SSN verification, criminal background check, credit check, and also a driving history check in a few companies. The SSN can provide a number of personal details concerning an individual. The driving history provides details such as bad or reckless driving records or drug abuse problems. This data can be obtained from the local DMV. Also, the motorist history can provide the details of accidents, and behavior with the court summons when given a ticket for illegal parking etc. Drug abuse and such other problem might be able to provide an insight about the attitude of a person and usually helps the employer refuse the application on these grounds.

A credit history can prove to be helpful when the company provides the employees with a corporate credit card. Also, if an individual has a history of bankruptcy, then providing the corporate credit card to that individual might not prove to be a very safe decision.

A background check also includes a previous employer check and verification of the referrals and the data provided in the applicant?s resume. The information provided by the investigator can be verified by the data provided by the applicant. Falsified resumes might seem very attractive when first produced but might prove to be harmful when the real details turn up during an investigation.

Pre-employment screening usually includes the substance abuse investigations as this might make the employee reckless, drowsy, and not interested in the work, along with the astronomical medical bills that the company needs to bear on behalf of the employee. Sexual abuse is another aspect to be considered, especially when the employee would be dealing with women and children.

The employer must also consider the history of worker?s compensation. If the person is fond of suing the previous employees as per the records produced during investigations, it is possible that the employee might look for ways to sue the present company also. The employer might have to consider this before hiring the applicant.
 

Make Sure They Are Who They Say They Are - Background Checks.

We regularly meet new people during the course of our daily lives. Most of the time, these strangers just pass on and we never see them again; but once in a great while, there's a chance that a select few of them will eventually continue to play a role in our lives. For example, we might want to hire them to work for us, we might want to go into business with them, or we might even want to date them. In these instances, it's definitely in our best interest to know everything we can about the person. Ideally, we would hope that the person would be forthright enough to tell us all about themselves, both the good and the bad. Of course, that doesn't usually happen. A more certain way to find out the information we want to know would be to hire an independent third party to perform a background check.

There are many companies that can conduct background checks entirely online. In most cases, you can specify the type of information you want returned. Thus, if you're checking out a potential new hire, you can request information about past employment and criminal records. If you want to verify the financial history of a potential business partner, then you can request a full credit check that includes any bankruptcy filings or property liens. Performing a background check on a potential new boyfriend or new girlfriend to see whether he or she has ever been in jail, really does have a college degree, or has ever been married before is not unheard of, and can save you from lots of headaches (and possibly some heartache) in the future.

Ordering background checks online is a very easy and discreet process. The person you are checking up on will not know that anyone has requested the information, as most of the items contained in typical background checks are matters of public record anyway. Just don't expect to be able to get your hands on someone's Social Security number or bank statement; that type of information is never revealed by a legitimate company even if they happen to come across the data in their searches.

The prices for background checks vary from company to company and usually depend on the amount of information you need. If you just need to verify a current address and phone number, you will pay significantly less than if you need a 10-year employment and credit history. Regardless of the type of background check you order, most companies can return the results very quickly -- often in 24 hours or less. Today's technology allows people to easily forge documents and falsify the events of their past. Luckily for us, background checks are easy, inexpensive, and don't take a lot of time to complete. So before you get taken in by someone you would like to trust, proceed with caution by first finding out as much as you can.

John Pawlett runs a private detective website that features numerous articles and reviews about the online detective and search industry. You can find out more on how to find out anything about anyone at http://www.ispydetective.com.

Tenant Background Searches

 

Tenant background searches become necessary when you are thinking of renting your house. A foolproof tenant background search helps you to make a quick, educated decision based on your tenant's background.

When thinking of renting your premises to a practical stranger, the basic things to check are the references the person provides. Other important things to check are eviction records, applicant fraud detection reports, criminal reports, sex offender reports, and terrorist reports.

The Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996, which became effective on October 1, 1997, has had a considerable effect on the rental industry. According to this act, the landlord has to obtain a disclaimer (a written authorization) from each applicant before screening. This disclaimer is to be kept in the file, even if the applicant is denied. When taking adverse action against the tenant, the landlord has to furnish him with an oral, written, or electronic notice of the adverse action, and all details of the consumer reporting agency that provided the report. The tenant has the right to demand a copy of the report against him, and he has the right to dispute the findings.

Tenant background searches can be conducted either in the landlord's own capacity or entrusted to a company experienced in this field. Tenant background searches are also carried out by private individuals who have taken made this process their profession. Tenant screening services run a thorough check on current public records, employment, and tenant credit report information. These agencies might even conduct personal interviews of previous landlords, who might reveal valuable information regarding the tenant. Entrusting the building to an unsuitable tenant might result in costly evictions and loss of rental income.

If you have several applicants as prospective tenants, running background searches might turn out to be very expensive. Tenants, who are keen on securing the house for rent, might offer to share the expenses involved. In spite of the expenses involved, tenant search agencies are beneficial to landlords because they help identify problem tenants and safeguard the landlord's property, avoiding legal troubles as well.

Background Searches provides detailed information on Background Search, Background Search Engines, Credit Record Background Search, Criminal Background Search and more. Background Searches is affiliated with Employment Background Checks .