Personal Lives, Social Networking, and Privacy Rights

Facebook and social networks have quickly become some of the best background research tools on the internet. They are not only used by individuals, but employers, colleges, and other entities. Over the years, people become both more concerned with privacy rights, and more public about their personal lives. But shouldn't we consider being more private about our personal lives and more public about our privacy rights?

Facebook is pretty clear that you are giving up most of your rights to privacy when you sign up, and that anything you post (including personal pictures) allows Facebook the publishing rights to reuse? Your personal information is no longer personal, the rights to it are owned by Facebook. This means that even if you delete something, Facebook retained the rights to it for up to seven years! There are many background check companies that have decided to take advantage of this information, and sell it within your personal background check records...

Interested in seeing what you can find in your social network background? There are a number of services that will show you what a potential employer or school may see, but that may also depend on the service used, as well as how far back their records date. TransparentMe is a service that is accessible through Facebook, and currently provides the social background check for around $20. Reppify is another service promoting background checks to employers, and states that their background checks include information from Twitter, Facebook, GitHub, and LinkedIn. Another company, Social Intelligence, is offering "Social media screening and research".

While most people complain about their privacy rights, they continue to post their personal lives on social networking sites almost universally. The few who have refused to participate in the usage of the most popular social networks are somewhat criticized for being behind in the technological world, rather than learning anything about how to protect their privacy. There's an old saying about what people know about you: "People only know what you tell them." Sounds like a good rule of thumb to me...

How to Run a Business Search and How the Information is Used

Much of what you would want to know about a business can be learned online. How the information is used is up to the researcher. But there are some very common uses for the information that you can pull up in a business report, and some of them are very handy to the right person. If you find yourself needing to know more about a company’s history, a business search just might be what you’re looking for. They are easy to obtain, and could help save your business thousands of dollars.

Most of the basic company information for just about any business can be found online, such as the name, address, and phone number, as well as in a local directory or phone book, or by calling 4-1-1. But the basic information is limited, and some of the more detailed information can only be found when you do further research, including running a business search on the company. The search should return more complex data, possibly information such as the physical description of the building that the business is located in, and the corporate filing status and information. You can generally find out who the controlling officers or agents within the company, as well as the owner’s name.

Running the search is fairly easy, especially if you already have the basic information. By entering the information into a database query form, you can easily sort through the initial results and choose a report that has the type of information you are looking to return in the final results. Most reports are available instantly, helping you make good use of your time. This information was not always available online, and in the past was much harder to track down. The online databases have made it simple and quick to retrieve information on just about any business or corporation.

But what can you do with the information once you have it in your hands? Probably one of the most common reasons businesses are checked is to establish credibility. But sometimes it is used for collection of unpaid bills, assessing a company’s credit, or to find out the owner of a DBA. Another common use is to determine how long a company has been in business.

Over the past decade, it has become extremely common for small businesses to start up, rack up thousands of dollars in unpaid product charges, and then simply shut down, leaving the unpaid bills behind. They can then easily start up another company, selling the products at 100% profit. It is quite common now for companies to protect themselves by requiring that anyone asking for credit with a business must be checked through a business search first, and determine how long they have been in business, as well as their track record.

While most of the more commonly used information can be found using databases like PeopleFinders, you can really get into the details about a company or corporation by utilizing other business resources and tools. There are quite a few available through PeopleSearch, and a complete set of tools to fit your needs.

To Check or Not to Check – What’s in Your Date’s Background?

Choosing to perform a background check on your potential date is a decision that for some people – does not come easy. In some cases, especially for those engaging in online dating, it may help to consider the possibilities of what could happen if you don’t do a background check. Many online dating websites are now making it mandatory for their clients to submit to a background check, creating a database of people who have been essentially pre-screened for you. If your best friend was to set you up on a blind date, you would essentially be on a date with someone who has been “pre-approved” by your best friend. But in the online dating world, you are basically setting yourself up on a blind date with a complete mystery person.

There is a reason why an increasing number of online dating services are requiring background checks. Simply put, we don’t live in the same world our mothers and grandmothers grew up in. Maybe there isn’t a growth in the number of situational predators in the dating scene, but with online dating there is a new accessibility to undesirable or potentially dangerous people. Most people are already aware of the danger that children are exposed to when going online, but many are unaware of the issues men and women face in with online dating. Background checks can reveal a number of things about a person that you may wish to avoid, such as a criminal history, past marriages, impending court cases, and even sexually or physically abusive people, and how many restraining orders have been placed on them in the past.

Online dating presents new challenges when determining patterns in a person that would normally signal a red flag in the traditional dating scene. Married men and women are able to conceal their marital status, participating in online conversations at times when phone calls and outings would otherwise be impossible. Let’s face it, if you’re going to date online, your going to hear some opposition, possibly from your family, your friends, or your co-workers. Maybe you’ve already heard it, but have you really considered what types of questions can be answered by a simple background check?

Some people naturally assume that if you are going to do a background check on your potential date, you are being dishonest and intrusive. But there are ways of protecting yourself, and being honest with the people you are dating or planning to invite into your home, and your life. First of all, if you are using certain online dating services, you will be meeting with people who have already agreed to a background check in order to join the service. But when exposing yourself to other online dating sources, you still have the opportunity to honestly let people know that you are concerned with their background. One of the most common worries is that a potentially great date is either married, or still in the process of a divorce – both of which can severely complicate matters in a new relationship. Many women are concerned with meeting married men, or men who have been married multiple times in the past. This is something that can be easily determined by performing a simple background check.

There are many areas of a person’s life that can be revealed with a background check, and once you are aware of these things, you can make an informed decision as to whether or not you want to move forward in the relationship. Many people, both men and women, are unaware that the person they are dating could hold enough debts to prevent them from leading a normal life. For example, a woman I have known for many years met a man over the internet, and developed a serious interest in dating this man. After a lengthy online relationship, they decided to meet in person, and hit it off immediately. What she didn’t know, was that her new love interest had a past that he was afraid to reveal. She knew that he had been married before, and had a child. What she didn’t know was that he had been married twice, and had a child from each marriage. Between the two children, he owed more than $65,000 in child support. Knowing whether or not a person has been married, or how many times, can open the doors to communication about things a person may not know how to bring up without scaring someone away. He wasn’t trying to keep information from her on purpose; he just didn’t know how to address the situation. If she had considered a background check on this man, she would have known what her future would be like with this man, and been able to make an informed decision about whether or not to proceed with the relationship.

It is quite common for people to have something in their past that they are not proud of, and they may even be honest with you about a problem they have had. For instance, a man may meet a woman whose profile states that she is a social drinker. She honestly reveals that she was in court for a DUI over 10 years, but has stayed out of trouble ever since. However, a simple background check could reveal that she was caught drinking and driving in 1992, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004, and 2006. Sometimes people who have something to hide are the same people who think that background checks are an invasion of one’s privacy, and that people who do them are being dishonest.

If you are honest about your intentions, and open about your plans to do a background check on your online prospects, you may be able to weed out those who are keeping secrets. If someone is against having a background check performed on them, talk to them about what you may potentially find; they may just open up and be honest about their past. Let them know that you are willing to trade reports, and you will provide them with a background check on yourself if they provide you with one as well. This can help to ease the tension and allow them to see that you are mutually willing to open up about your past, and looking to enter into a happy, healthy, honest relationship. If it remains a problem, you may decide that this person isn’t ready to fully share their life with another person. Most of all, consider your own safety and happiness, you may just be glad you did.

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background checks, online dating, opinions, people, safety

USsearch.com - Website Review

US Search, pioneered affordable people search services. Founded in 1994 by Nicholas Matzorkis, US Search has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on television shows reuniting friends and family members, and recently appeared on 60 Minutes with their first customers, who were reunited 13 years ago. Matzorkis states that making public records available online has leveled the playing field. "Personal information in the U.S. is a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry," he said. "It's just a question of who has access. You, or the people selling it to other companies to market things to you?"

Their website offers various searches and reports such as background checks, criminal records, real estate reports, and reverse phone. They feature “4 Easy Steps to Public Records”, where the user enters search criteria for a preliminary search, which returns a list of names for you to choose from, select a report to purchase, and off you go to checkout online. Their famous 800-number connects you with operators assisting with searches and questions.

US Search grew rapidly. By 1996 the company had over 200 employees and took up three floors of office space on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills, CA. By 1999, they employed 400, and were worth $160 million on the NASDAQ exchange. In 2002, control of the company was acquired by First American Title, and is currently traded as First Advantage (FADV), with a market capitalization of over $1.3 billion.

Background Checks Could Offer Protection When Dating Online

If you’ve ever struggled with whether to do a background check on the person you’ve met online, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans are single, and you no longer need to leave your comfort zone to find a date. People are meeting in chat rooms, through online date matching services, and classified listings. Sending pictures through email seems like a great idea, until you’re the recipient of a picture of what your date wishes they look like, instead of what they really look like. You may also find that there are married people using the internet to find affairs without being seen around town, and keeping you unaware of their marital status.

Generally speaking, if you meet a person in a traditional dating scene such as a bar, club, bowling alley, or a dog park (yes, it happens), people can give us different feelings, right off-the-bat. The guy who walks up to a woman and feeds her a cheesy line has probably been doing it all night, and still no success. Some people may give you the warm-fuzzies, while others just plain give you the creeps. These are signs we can only see (or feel) in person. People can write anything online about themselves, and yet reading those words on the screen gives us a sense of having gotten to know a person through their words. The fact of the matter is, most people – even honest people – tend to hold back things that embarrass them. We candy-coat the truth, sweep secrets under the carpet, and stuff the closet with skeletons when we describe ourselves online.

With meeting people over the internet, we lose the ability to establish a first impression. Worse yet, our first face-to-face meeting could be tainted by information that was fed to us without facial expressions, body language, or even a “vibe” we get from people when we talk in person. This can distort a person’s view of who they are meeting, and our mind tries to match up everything we think we know about the person with the face we are seeing. We complain if our mother sets us up with a blind date, yet we have no qualms about setting ourselves up on them. Sometimes this unawareness sets us up for identity theft, among other potential dating dangers.

On the internet, we can hide behind a façade that we create; perhaps making ourselves out to be the person we wish we were. The person on the other end of the chat is most likely doing the same thing, although they have the unique opportunity to become the person you want them to be. Sometimes we are trying so hard not judge people in a bad way, and we forget not to judge people in a good way either. Just look at how many people are getting their selves into a bad situation because they trusted someone, thinking they were a good person. We can’t automatically assume that someone is a “good person”, yet it’s a mistake almost all of us make. If you think that doing a background check on a potential dating partner is wrong, think again. When you meet a person online, just as when you meet them in person, they could be hiding anything.

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background checks, ID theft, identity protection, online dating, people, safety

Should I Do a Background Check on the Maid?

When you hire a company to do work to your house, do you stop to consider who you are inviting into your home? Most people assume that since they are calling a number out of the phone book, they are going to get trustworthy people coming into their homes. But this is not always the case. There have been quite a few incidents of crime and theft that stems from workers we invite to our homes, including identity theft. Unless you plan to do a background check on everyone you bring to your home, it’s best to ensure that the company you are calling has done the homework for you. Whether you are having your carpets cleaned, your kitchen remodeled, or you’re hiring a weekly maid, you’ll want to feel safe about your choices. Even if your home is fully insured, and your belongings are protected, you’ll want to be sure your identity is carefully guarded as well.

Some companies are starting to see the need to advertise the security measures they are taking to protect their customers. A recent commercial for Stanley Steemer, says that they do background checks on all of their carpet cleaning technicians, so that you know that the people who enter into your home have been thoroughly checked for drug use or criminal history. On the other hand, many national home maid services, such as Molly Maid and Merry Maids do not advertise that their employees have undergone a background check. Instead, their maids are insured and bonded, which means that their employees have been somewhat checked out, in order to determine whether the employee is bondable. Their websites does not have information regarding background checks on their maids, yet this is a service that allows the employees to enter into homes without the owner present.

If you are choosing to hire a private contracted company or individual, whether for home reconstruction or remodeling, or a nanny or housecleaner, doing a background check on the person you intend to hire may be in order. When a person applies for a state issued license, they usually have to pass a background check prior to receiving their license. This means that most licensed contractors, plumbers, HVAC repair specialists, and construction companies have already submitted their information for the purpose of performing a background check on the state level. But there are many companies that fall into categories that do not require licensure or background checks, and you may be left on your own to determine whether they are safe to invite into your home. This includes housecleaners, TV/VCR repair persons, tutors for students, nannies, babysitters, maids, window washers, and many more professions.

When you invite someone into your home, it is up to you to protect yourself. Keep your personally identifying information in a safe place, out of view from visitors. Don’t leave your mail on the kitchen table when you come through the door. Sort through it, shred the junk mail, and stash the bills in a safe place, out of the reach of people who may be in your home for a short time. It is best to keep all of your paperwork in a filing cabinet in a safe part of the house, such as the bedroom or a locked closet. This way, you can get to it easily, keep organized, and your personal information stays out of view.

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background checks, identity protection, people, safety