What Do Online Background Checks Know About You?

To put it bluntly, online background checks know as much about you as you let them.

 

 

The more active you are on social networks like Instagram and Facebook, the more “food” you serve people screening services like Checkpeople. 

 

Background Checks Reveal Your Financial History

While it’s true that background checks are mostly used to screen job candidates, one’s financial history can be one of the first things that surface during a routine one.

Your spending habits will tell your potential employer if you can be trusted with finances. If a background check reveals a slew of late payments, they may decide that you won’t make a good fit.

Your credit card statement may also end up on people’s search websites’ radar. Paying by your contactless credit card is a great convenience, but sometimes we tend to forget that every transaction is recorded meticulously. 

 

Your Credit Reports May Surface

People screening agencies often contact credit bureaus to try to obtain the credit reports of the person being checked. These reports show their interactions with credit card companies and other financial institutions.

A typical credit report contains the applicant’s date of birth and current address. It also shows if they have filed any recent credit inquiries.

In one’s credit report, there may be several tradelines. They show if this person has opened accounts with particular lenders and if so, the type of the account.

Credit reports also provide information on the amount of the loan or the limit of the credit line.

In short, an online background check can reveal if you have any loans and how well you have been managing them.

 

People Screening Engines Know If You Are Prone to Violence

One’s criminal records always appear in a standard background check. Your potential employer will thus find out if you were caught shoplifting or if you are prone to commit violent behavior.

A standard background check will reveal if you have sued anybody and any current charges against you.

Your court record will also indicate if you were acquitted of any past charges. This information is essential to your employer, as they may face negligent hiring claims.

 

Background Checks Know Your Driving Habits

The best thing would be the background check on you, revealing you have not had any contact with law enforcement whatsoever.

Close to ninety percent of Americans are active drivers. There is hardly a single driver in the United States who hasn’t had a parking or speeding ticket since they first sat at the wheel.

Even the most basic background check will show what kind of driver you are. Never forget that the automobile is first and foremost a means of transport and only then a projection of its owner’s ego.

Very few employers out there will risk hiring someone with a long list of traffic violations even if the job doesn’t require driving.

Such job applicants are automatically dismissed as unreliable and unable to follow simple rules and instructions. How you drive is telling of your attitude toward other people and the extent to which you’re careful and respectful. 

 

Your Shopping Habits Can Be revealed

I buy, ergo I am. This is the motto that most city dwellers live by these days. We know that everything we may want is just a click away.

As soon as a background check engine locates the candidate’s Amazon or eBay account, it can quickly make a file with all of their purchases.

It will include dates and the exact times at which you made any payments. 

What you buy and when you buy can give your potential employer a hint of whether impulses drive you or reasons. 

In other words, people search engines know if you are a compulsive buyer or you buy only what you need.

 

For Employers to Verify Candidate’s Identity

Potential employers can run their social security number (SSN) through a people search engine to determine if it is valid.

Address cross-referencing is also part of the identity verification process. This type of check requires the candidate’s consent, as do all types.