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ArticlesNEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2006 • In the News: Employment and Education Fraud is not just a U.S. problem In the News: Employment and Education Fraud is not just a U.S. problem. The importance of international verification was underscored by a study just released by a background screening firm located in England and reported at www.onrec.com According to the news article, the English based screening firm studied 2,487 applicants for employment for the month of July which revealed: • 25% of applicants for positions in banks and other financial institutions have lied on their application forms. • 38% of applications submitted by British men had at least one major lie on their application form. • The income group with the largest amount of discrepancies was earning £80,000 to £90,000 per year. • 51-60 year old applicants have the most discrepancies on their application forms. • See http://www.onrec.com/newsstories/13112.asp for the full story. The lessons learned: verification of past employment and education is a world wide problem and employers both in the U.S. and aboard need to pay attention to international verifications. ReferencePro International is a leading provider of wholesale verifications for background screening firms having performed credential checks in over 150 countries. For more information about the ReferencePro International services, contact Craig Caddell at 415-493-2118 or 415-606-6365. Attaching Releases for a smoother verification process. A recurring challenge for background screening firms is employers and schools that require releases. The background firm must locate the release (or obtain it from their employer client if an online ordering system used) and provide it to the past employer or school. If the release is faxed, then the screening firm must contend with all of the vagaries of the faxing process, and may be dependent upon the recipients fax machine being turned on, not busy and having paper. Arrangements must be made to ensure that it is being faxed to a secured machine so personally identifiable information does not fall into the wrong hands. Then the screening firm must track the process to confirm it was received, got to the right hands, and that someone as the past employer or school is responding. ReferencePro's technology team has taken a step to lessen the pain associated with document management of releases. When a release is required by a past employer or school, ReferencePro e-mails a secure link to the back ground firm who can then simply browse and attach the release (provided it is a standalone document). ReferencePro handles everything from there including verifying the release is sent to a secured machine, as well as tracking and re-sending if needed. For more information on ReferencePro document management solutions contact ReferencePro at 415-493-2118. At-home verifiers vs. at-home criminal researchers comparing Previous newsletters have discussed the potential issues for screening firms that use a network of home based operators to perform domestic employment and educational verifications. It raises issues of professionalism, quality control and training. There are also issues concerning protection and security of private data being sent willy-nilly into living rooms, kitchens and dorm rooms across America. In addition, if the workers are misclas sified as Independent Contractors, a screening firm is subject to significant exposure if the federal or a state government determines the home operator was actually an employee in disguise and taxes were not withheld, and payments were not made to federal and state programs. The point that is naturally raised is how home operators who verify employment and education differ from criminal researchers, many of whom also operate out of their homes across the United States. Here is the critical difference - criminal researchers must by geographic necessity be located all over the US because that is where the court records are located. Home based operators on the other hand have no inherent need to be working from home. The only reason firms use at-home operators is to save money. The bottom line: there is no justification for the risks involved in using home based operators other than the desire to make money. Quality and data privacy are being put at risk for no good reason. There are two other critical differences as well. First, in order to even be in business, criminal researchers must accept orders every day. Criminal court researchers cannot just go to the courthouse when they feel like it. Secondly, criminal researchers are true independent contractors who normally work for a number of screening firms. Home based operators by comparison typically work for just one screening firm, and then only work when it is convenient for them. The results - criminal researchers must work to high professional standard on a daily basis or risk losing their business. If a home operator does not perform, the only sanction is they may lose a very low paying job. For more information on the true costs and risk of using home based operators, contact ReferencePro. ReferencePro Announces additional platform integrations. ReferencePro is pleased to announce additional platform integrations. The two platforms (in chronological order of integration) are: FRS www.frssoftware.com ReferencePro has seamless integration with the following additional system (in Alphabetical order): BackChecked www.backchecked.com For screening firms utilizing other systems, or utilizing proprietary technology, please contact ReferencePro for information on seamless B2B XML integration. Industry Calendar. ReferencePro Vice President Craig Caddell will be attending the following screening industry events: • September 24 NAPBS Mid-Year meeting in San Diego • September 25 ASIS meeting in San Diego • November 12-15 - The Screeners Conference in Sand Key, FL (including a booth at the trade show and presentation of a session on employment verifications). Please let us know if you would like to meet in person at one of these events and we would be happy to arrange a date and time with you. |
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