There was an interesting article in our local paper last week. One of our city commissioners had been sent a 1099 form from an employer in a different state. Her first thought was that it was clearly a mistake. Shouldn’t a background check be enough to clear the matter up?
She first contacted the company who sent her the 1099. As it turned out, this “employee” had been working there for about five years before they left. Because a driver’s license is not required anymore, there was no picture identification to be able to match up, or use to dispute her claim.
She had not consulted with a background check company or any background check experts to conduct criminal background checks and employee background checks. The credit reports she had run never showed up anything suspicious. Her social security number, luckily, had not been used to open any accounts or apply for any credit or utilities.
So there were no other leads to follow up on whom this mystery person was, and more importantly how they got a hold of her social security number.
It could have been a random input of numbers. It could have been stolen from a database and sold. No telling how many other people have had access to her social security number and what damage they might do!
No telling how many more hours and dollars will be spent to clear her name.
This is another reason why pre employment screening and background checks are needed. There is often more damage than just making a bad hiring decision.
Consulting with a background check expert through a background check company to assist with criminal background checks and employee background checks can help ensure you are getting accurate information.
To purchase Pre-Employment Screening Services or for more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks or pre employment screening contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547
