BACKGROUND CHECKS: know who you are dealing with

Pre-EMPLOYMENT SCREENS


Is that resume just TOO GOOD to be True??  Find out BEFORE you hire.


Pre-Employment Screening experts have found huge discrepancies between what job candidates report on resumes and in interviews and what is uncovered in a background check that includes checking public records and tracking down people in a position to know the truth about the job candidate. Sometimes you need more than a search engine, you need a person who knows where to look for records and who to interview.


WARNING:  You need to protect your business and your current employees. You need to protect yourself against negligence hiring lawsuits. BUT, you do not have unlimited rights to investigate an applicant's background or personal life. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and other laws, job candidates have rights to privacy in certain areas. If those are violated, they can take legal action against you.

     Get the truth. But get it legally

BUSINESS PARTNERS

Is there something off about a potential business partner or are they just too smooth? 


Find out before you sign. Sure your accountant can run the numbers and a credit check, but a business partnership involves more than finances . You need to find out about your potential partner's business past and character. Troves of information about people are in county courthouses that include not only information about criminal and financial behavior but can show how they have treated past partners and whether they are dishonest or litigious.  These courthouses need to be checked individually and each jurisdiction in which your potential partner has worked or lived should also be checked. Federal courthouses should be checked for bankruptcies as well as crimes and lawsuits. Regulators and licensing entities might need to be checked as well. 

 Austen & Watson does that.

SKETCHY ROMANTIC INTERESTS

WHO IS YOUR E-DADDY (or E-Mamma)?

Maybe you've been chatting online and just want more background before you meet.

Maybe you are interacting in real time and your gut says "Something ain't right" or "Can I trust this?"

OR WORSE, your daughter or son has fallen for someone who just seems sketchy.


FIND OUT! GO BEYOND GOOGLE!

CAREGIVERS

WHO IS TAKING CARE OF MOM?


Mom wants to stay in her home but she needs help. You live in another state, but found her a private-hire caregiver.

Particularly if that person is not from a fully-licensed agency, you want to know more about them.


FIND OUT! 

WHY YOU NEED TO GO BEYOND GOOGLE

THE INTERNET IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE INFORMATION PUT ON IT

Unfortunately, the Internet and even serious databases like the National Crime Center database, which is maintained by the FBI, is only as good as the information that gets input.   America learned that lesson with the Nov. 5, 2017 church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas in which Devin Patrick Kelley shot and killed 26 people. He obtained his weapons legally despite being court-martialed  in 2012 for assaulting his spouse and fracturing his baby's skull. The U.S. Navy is still investigating why that information was not input into the Crime Center database. 


To mitigate the chances of missing key information, Austen & Watson searches not one but several databases and also manually checks courthouses in all the jurisdictions in which the subject has lived in addition to federal, state and county agencies from licensing bureaus to tax collectors or property appraisers who maintain their own websites with information as well as regulatory agencies, and other governmental or educational agencies that might apply. 


The truth is, some of the most telling information about a person is contained in the criminal and civil court files in thousands of county courthouses across the country. These files hold information about murder, rape, fraud schemes, theft and crimes of dishonesty, domestic violence, malpractice, drug and alcohol abuse and even financial information. These files are not scanned and hooked into the Internet all ready and waiting for your Google search. It takes money and staff time to make this court information electronically available and most jurisdictions want to get paid for this work. Thousands of courthouses have their own portals that connect to the Internet and these would not typically show up on a Google search. You need a person who knows where to find them - often one with a credit card in hand - ready to search the site. An Internet search engine isn't designed to do that. In some cases, you might even need to file a Freedom of Information or, for example, if a divorce or another case was filed before a court generated digital records, you might need search microfiche and even paper files to get the truth.  


YOU NEED TO GO  BEYOND GOOGLE.

Is that resume just too good to be true?

Experts report these common discrepancies in resumes:

  • 80% Misleading or embellished information
  • 40% Inflated salary claims
  • 30% Inaccurate job descriptions
  • 30% Altered employment dates 
  • 27% Falsified references
  • 20% Fraudulent degrees
  •  9% Have previous Worker’s Compensation Claims
  • 5% Had a criminal record in the last 7 years

Even the Big Boys on Wall Street with all of their reach and resources get tricked.

  • Ram Kumar, Research Director of Institutional Shareholder Services, falsely claimed a law degree.
  • Kenneth Lopnchar, former CFO of Veritas, falsely claimed an MBA from Stanford University.
  • Ron Zarella, CEO of Bausch & Lomb, falsely claimed an MBA from New York University.
  • Bryan Mitchell, Chairman of MCG Capital, falsely claimed a BA in economics from Syracuse University.