Why do background checks?
We are strange society. Many of us don’t know our neighbors, but thanks to the internet, we may be close friends with someone in Bangladesh or Japan, and have never met them. More and more, relationships are being sought through social media. I suppose there are advantages to using Facebook to find a new mate, since they will be able to pre-screen you, and you them, before the two of you ever meet or have to have an awkward conversation when you are randomly thrown together. There are also all those rich Nigerian princes that are trying to come over and just need you to deposit some of their money in your bank account and don’t forget those nice gentlemen that are wanting to talk to your underage daughter and maybe take her out for ice-cream.
With the amount of predators slinking around, you need to know who you are dealing with before you trust them to come into your life. It used to be, we knew who we were dealing with because we interacted with them and the rest of our community. We don’t have that as much anymore, so you need to find out with whom you are dealing. The same information you use to know because it was common knowledge among the people living in your town or in your neighborhood, is available online, or through your local Private Investigator (Look at the bottom of this blog for a special price on checks done by my company, Air Capitol Investigations).
So on who are they conducted?
Contractors!
Anytime you allow someone unknown into your home, you should know something about them. I remember speaking with a friend of mine who collects World War II militaria. He has many, many thousands of dollars worth of rare uniforms and equipment. He is very strict about the people he allows into his house. The reason his strict is he knew another collector who was having some work done by a contractor. When he pulled into his driveway late one night, he saw his contractor loading his prized possessions into his van. Here in Tornado Alley, a lot of damage occurs from our booming thunderstorms. Whenever there is widespread roof damage due to storms, the gypsy roofers show up looking for work. Probably, they are honest people just looking for work. Probably, but before you spend thousands on a contractor, pay the $40-$65 dollars it takes to have someone check them out. Yes, you could call the Better Business Bureau, but if they have never heard of the person who knocked on you door looking for work, then they won’t have any record of them. The BBB also won’t have criminal records either, but a PI can research that for you.
New Love Interests.
I know, it seems wrong somehow to not trust someone who is professing undying love for you. But thieves, liars, and con-men have been using the emotions of love and loneliness to manipulate people for thousands of years. They are experts and sounding sincere and experts at hiding their evil until they have burned you. A Private Investigator is discreet. Here in Kansas, the laws that govern PIs state that Private Investigators are not to divulge the information about their clients, even to the police unless subpoenaed by the State Attorney General’s office. And then the Attorney General won’t divulge the information to the other police, but only inform the inquiring law enforcement agency that there were no illegal activities going on. You should protect yourself from men, or women, who have a known history of abusing their wives or husbands. You also need to protect yourself from people who are criminals and thieves. A discreet inquiry by a PI could save you a lot of pain and embarrassment, and protect your family as well.
Business Partners.
It surprises me that background checks by potential partners aren’t more common. Anyone can wear a suit and have some pretty business cards printed up. What you need to know is what kind of financial shape the business is in and if the person you are thinking of throwing in with is legitimate. Does the person have a lot of bankruptcies on their record, or maybe one big one? A smart con-man will have a clean bill of health in that department. What they do is tell all their creditors, one by one, they are going bankrupt, but they really want to see them get some of their money. The creditor, inspired by the loyalty of the con-man and wanting to recoup at least some of their money, agrees to settle for pennies on the dollar, thus avoiding losing everything in the bankruptcy. Once the con-man settles with all his creditors, he pulls the bankruptcy out of court. Thus, his record is clean and he’s got a ton of free money he can spend.
So what’s in a background check?
Private Investigators subscribe to a lot of different information brokers. They are also proficient in how to look up information in public records both online and in the courthouse. They also actually talk to people in the person’s past, and check them out as well. Just because someone says their references are old employers, doesn’t mean that it isn’t their cousins. PIs look for that connection to make sure what the references are valid. Other common items are local and Federal criminal searches, FEIN searches, Civil Judgments, Bankruptcies, Tax Liens, and they verify professional licenses. There is more than can be investigated, but these show the far reaching a background check can be.
Where do I get a Background Check done for me?
Background checks are done by almost all PIs. You can also get one online from several companies, I don’t use them and many people say they are rip offs, but I don’t know. Expect to pay $50 plus for an online background check. Most PIs charge $65 here in my market. Air Capitol Charges $60, but we also sell subscription rates to businesses that do a larger volume of checks due to their hiring rate. If you mention you read this blog, you can get a background check done at the subscription rate of $35. Just email me at Sam@WichitaDetective.com
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