Fueled in part by the rise in the use of smart phones and social media by consumers, as well as a large number of data breaches, identity theft incidents in the United States rose by 13 percent in 2011 to affect nearly 12 million Americans, according to the ‘2012 Identity Fraud Report: Social Media and Mobile Forming the New Fraud Frontier’ survey released by Javelin Strategy & Research. To download the identity theft survey from Javelin, visit https://www.javelinstrategy.com/brochure/239. (more…)

In a developing story that shows why Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) should follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when providing background checks, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently warned marketers of six background check mobile applications (“apps”) that they may be violating the FCRA, a federal law enforced by the FTC that regulates CRAs. The FTC sent letters to three background check app marketers warning that they must comply with the FCRA if the background check reports they provide are being used for employment, housing, and credit purposes, according to an updated FTC press release at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/mobileapps.shtm. (more…)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned marketers of six mobile applications that provide background screening “apps” that they may be in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law enforced by the FTC, and that they must comply with the FCRA if they have reason to believe the background screening reports they provide are being used for employment, housing, credit, or other similar purposes. The FTC press release is available at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/mobileapps.shtm. (more…)

If jobseekers want to get hired for a job these days, they will probably have to undergo a background check. And if they have to undergo a background check, it would be in their best interest to make sure the information found on the background check is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. As a result, some jobseekers are taking matters in their own hands by proactively conducting “self” background checks on themselves to verify the accuracy of their public information. This is Trend #10 on the list of the fifth annual Employment Screening Resources (ESR) ‘Top 10 Trends in Background Checks’ for 2012. To view the list, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/ESR-Top-10-Trends-in-Background-Checks-for-2012.php. (more…)

Users of mobile phone apps and Web sites offering “instant” background checks on anyone at any time with little effort or cost should be aware that while these services are fast, cheap, and easy to use, they may not provide entirely accurate information, according to the white paper ‘Background Check Mobile Phone Apps and Instant Background Check Web Sites: Fast and Easy, But Are They Accurate?’ The complimentary white paper, by Lester Rosen, CEO of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), and Kerstin Bagus, Director of Global Compliance at LexisNexis® Screening Solutions, is available on the ESR website at http://www.esrcheck.com/Download/. (more…)