The USA has one of the highest crime rates among other developed countries. Identity theft and white collar is on the increase. Without proper background checking procedures, you or your business can become victims of costly and potentially life destroying criminal activities.
A recent study demonstrated that:
- 95% of all companies are victims of theft, and yet only 10% ever discover it.
- 30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft.
- 39% of all Background Checks had at least one serious flag.
Millions of dollars have reportedly been lost due to fraud and misrepresentation; these crimes are often due to lackluster background checking procedures which can result in employees with less than desirable backgrounds and identities working within important roles where they have access to accounting or employee information.
Laws have now been passed requiring companies and certain positions to have mandatory background checks for all applicants. And it's very surprising how this simple countermeasure has resulted in a dramatic reduction of violence and fraud related crimes.
With the rise of the internet, including social networking where people share information about themselves or their personal lives, it has become much easier to obtain and use this information to commit fraud, or identity theft.
There is some good news - background checks are now more accessible then ever; the US government has actually made their database more transparent in recent years. The net result of this is that the number of business and individuals conducting online and conventional record and criminal background checks has grown significantly (be it for employment or the acquisition of information for personal use). These circumstances and events have led to the growth of the background check industry in the US.
DontBeaVictim.org is a completely free website that provides information regarding this new industry. The site contains relevant and informative articles regarding all the information that you need to know about background checks, how they work, and which background check is most relevant for your situation or workplace.
As they say "An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure." - For the relatively small price of online background checks, it's worth the peace of mind.
For more information on DontBeaVictim.org, visit the website: http://www.dontbeavictim.org
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The Truth about Employment Background Checks and Privacy Laws
Privacy laws were put into place basically to protect individuals and privacy of their personal information, but there are times where in there is a necessity to locate and review their personal data. Such is the case when it comes to employment for a certain job, especially if the job description includes being around children or handling large amounts of money unsupervised and other careers including with the government.
Early in the 1990s there was rise in cases involving assault and damages done to customers by employees, and courts then ruled that the employers were legally responsible for negligent hiring. This started the entire employment background check and background screening business we have today. Many privacy laws have been introduced and amended to take the rise in this industry into account.
It still stands today that every individual has the right to privacy, but it is also the right of every employer to get as much information as they can on the person they want to hire. Most, if not all, jobs now require an employee to have good moral character, diligence and at least a clean record. It is legal for employers to carry out normal background checks, previous employment checks, as well as to seek other information on any applicant. Employers have the right to hire the best person for the job, and if the job involves children or money, they wouldn’t want to hire a person with previous sex offenses or robbery charges.
Part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), is that employers cannot use convictions over 7 years ago as basis for denying any applicant employment. Also part of the FCRA is an act known as the American with Disabilities Act that states that employers are not allowed to use an applicant’s disability as reason for rejection if the disability has no bearing on his/her ability to perform the job offered.
There is a loophole to the FCRA that currently most employers are using; they now use their own resources to conduct the background checks because the act only applies if the employer subcontracts the background checking to a professional agency. Another is that the law only applies to the reporting for the results not to the pre-employment background check itself. They can therefore view all necessary information then provide the applicant with a reason for rejection that is not part of the reasons stated in the FCRA act.
Most of the time when this happens, applicant usually want to view the report themselves, often times some may not bother to. There are some states that allow applicants to legally view all information procured by the employer, but even in these states the law cannot force an employer to hire someone they don’t want to hire. The true reason behind an employee's rejection is, more often than not, kept and never revealed. Any company can just easily say that they found someone better suited for the job and have no legal repercussions whatsoever.
For more information and resource on background checks, self defense, ID theft and other life saving tips visit www.dontbeavictim.org
Gun Control Background Checks; 10 years after Columbine
The mention of Columbine still strikes fear and brings back memories of the awful tragedy that befell on the victims on that fateful day. It is also now synonymous as being the worst school shooting incident in American history.
Colorado - April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a rampage and killed 12 students including a teacher. They were armed with guns, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and had propane bombs set up around the school. They later killed themselves forty-five minutes after the massacre began. It was later discovered that they obtained three of their weapons from an 18-year-old acquaintance at a gun show, where their friend was not subjected to any gun background checks.
The incident then sparked a national debate on gun control, and later resulted in mandatory background checks for purchases at gun shows. The "Gun show loophole" was one of many ways Americans could acquire firearms without the hassle of background checks and rid of any waiting time.
Shorty after Columbine, Colorado voters passed a ballot to close the "Gun show loophole" and required dealers to run criminal background checks to purchasers as they would if they were buying at retail stores, but even with the legislation approved there were still ways for potential gun buyers to purchase firearms at gun shows without going through background checks. Some patrons of these gun shows sometimes bring their own guns for sale and sell them to other attendees in private deals not involving any licensed dealer, therefore escaping any background checks that are supposed to be mandatory for any purchase.
A rally was held Monday to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of the incident. The event was sponsored by Colorado Ceasefire, a gun control group. The group is pushing for stricter gun controls laws as well as the strict implementation of current law specifically the mandatory background checks on purchases made at gun shows.
The Brady Campaign, also a gun control group is lobbying for stricter gun control laws. Numerous other groups have also come into being following the Columbine incident and the massacre two years ago at Virginia Tech where 32 people were killed by a lone gunman. A recent report has also shown that 32 people die in gun/shooting related incidents every day in America.
DontBeaVictim.org - Free Background Check Information
Dontbeavictim.org is a free information provider to aid individuals and businesses. The site provides completely free background check information, self defense, safety and security, and other vital tips to help avert and counteract potentially life threatening and otherwise costly situations.
As they say "An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure." - For the relatively small price of online background checks, it's worth the peace of mind.
If you’d like more information on this topic, please email webmaster@dontbeavictim.org.
Website - www.dontbeavictim.org
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