Tips on How to Perform Background Checks

Performing Online Background Checks

A high-ranking public official is forced to resign after it is revealed that he lied about his experience and credentials on his resume, creating a massive scandal and media frenzy.

A woman is assaulted by a man who delivered a pizza to her address the week before.

A businessman gets conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars after learning his �business partner� is nothing more than a professional scammer with a lengthy criminal record.

What do all of these scenarios have in common? These and other types of unfortunate events could have been easily and inexpensively prevented by just performing a routine background check. Whether your are a company looking to screen employees, an individual in the process of embarking on a personal or professional relationship with another person, a landlord who is making a decision on who they should rent to, or a placement director for an agency or organization that works in a sensitive field, it is crucial that you take steps to make sure the people you are dealing with are trustworthy. The tragic events of 9/11, the disturbing incidences of child abuse and abduction involving persons responsible for caring for them, the increasing numbers of negligent hiring lawsuits filed by persons harmed by a coworker�s misconduct and the high percentage of false information given on employment and rental applications (some estimates are as high as 40 percent!), have made background checks a vital tool in protecting the integrity of your business or organization.

With the advent of the Internet, many background checks can now be done online, taking only minutes to provide information that used to not be available for hours, even days or weeks. Most online background checking websites work by performing searches for public records such as state and federal criminal records, civil judgments, bankruptcies and tax liens. You can also get a history of every address the person in question has lived in. If you are an employer looking to screen applicants, you can also use online background check services to verify an applicant�s social security number, employment history and credentials such as college degrees, professional licenses and certifications.
Many background search packages also give you the option of checking someone�s credit report as well.

Most online background checking services are very user friendly and can be very easily navigated. Some are subscription-based, meaning you have to pay a fee every month, and others have pay-as�you-go options which allow you to only pay for the services you need, when you need them. Some services may also require that you purchase or download additional software in order to view the reports, so make sure you examine the terms of service to be sure of what your user account entails.

Since you will be handling very sensitive information, it is also very important that you take appropriate measures to ensure that all findings will be kept confidential and that you use background search services that are in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

How to Perform Background Checks

When you are considering hiring people or meeting someone your friend or you may have met online they tend to leave out the important details about themselves.

For instance, they might �accidentally� forget to tell you that they have a criminal record, or that they have children. In times like these the wise thing to do is to perform a back ground check. It may sound complicated but it�s actually simple.

Now you first need to know the basic information about this person. Like their first and last names, and in some cases their date of birth or address. You must know when doing background checks there are all types of action you can perform to get information on a person. For example, you can search for criminal records.

When hunting for criminal records you can conduct this search by State, County or International Criminal histories. You�ll get information on what they were convicted for, how long the sentence was they served, warrants, court documents and much more. There are several places on the web that let you do this search for a small fee or for free. Such as
www.backgroundcheckgateway.com, www.ussearch.com , or www.backgroundchecks.com just to name a few.

Background checks can consist of:

 Police Record Check
 Credit Check
 Court Records Check
 Personal References
 Education Check
 Previous Employment Check

You need to decide what kind of check you want to do first, whether it�s a police record check, credit, education or personal references. This is the first and most vital step. Once you decide you can pick out a website from above or one you see that you like and perform the search.

Credit Search- You can gain access to credit reports from all over the world, it can be Afaghanstan, Albania, Nigeria whatever as long as it�s in compliance with the FCRA
(Fair Credit Reporting Act)

For a basic background check you will need the subject�s legal name, address, and date of birth. Here is the form:

Search information on the following Person
First Name Required
Middle Name
Last Name Required
Job Title
Sex
Street Address
City
Phone Number, email or IM
State / Province
Search this County / State
Zip Code
Date of Birth Month Day Year
SSN
Additional Information
(Link to individual's picture
can be pasted here)
Your email Address
(Reports will be emailed
to this address)
Country

What some may not know is that doing a background checks can include their physiological history. It�s simple and all you need is the person first and last name their phone number, email or IM. You will need their zip code, SSN (social security number).

These searches can be performed with a widely know backgrounch check engine: http://www.abika.com/ the back ground check categories are broken down into exactly what you may be looking for. They tell you what a type of check includes and what kind of information you will receive back. Then you submit the information and they email you with the results. It�s very simple.

Extended list of background checks websites:

www.numberway.com
www.crimcheck.com
www.efindoutthetruth.com
www.knowx.com
www.zabasearch.com
www.courtcheck.com
www.inospecialist.com
www.peoplefind.com
wwwvericheckingo.com
www.Inmate-Records.net
www.Courtsonline.org
www.Investigate123.com
www.business.com

Whatever the reason and whatever state you live in you can perform a simple back ground check and get the low down on a potential date or employer. It�s simple, easy and doesn�t require a whole lot of effort or a whole lot of money. Remember when doing so make sure you stay within the law.