Employment Background Checks? How do you find what is out there?

[R_Bert]

I had an interesting event come up while establishing an account on a .gov website.

 

My SSN & other PI was required, so the system generates some security questions based on data from Esperian.

 

One or more of the questions was based on information that is not related to any aspect of my financial history, yet were not the "NA/does not apply".  They were not dummy questions.....apparently there is some incorrect info or possibly fraudulent info. 

 

Of course, my alarm klaxon is full red alert.

 

Several things come to mind.....

-  obviously I need to check the credit reporting and clean some stuff off of it.

 

- Then....   I wondered, "what do prospective employers see, and  how do I see what is "out there" on me?" 

 

I know I can go to the local Oak Ridge Credit Bureau, and I probably will for advice, but I am thinking two pronged approach needed -

a strong credit monitoring service, and .....what else?

 

Looking at high end monitoring and reporting packages (and services to help clean up the problems) on IdentityGuard.com, LifeLock,Trusted ID Essentials, ProtectMyID, etc.

 

Which is best monitoring service, and what do I need to do to "see what employers see"?

 

Thanks,

 

Bert

[eRay]

First I would go to www.annualcreditreport.com and request a free copy of my credit report from all three of the credit reporting agencys. If there are things on there you disagree with, send them a certified letter disputing the incorrect information. They will investigate the discrepencies and get back to you. Until you know exactly what it is you can't do much about it.

[vontar]

FYI, you can get a free credit report from all 3 reporting companies once a year.  Time it right and you can get a free one every 4 months I believe.

On step 2. you can pick I believe all 3 or just one at a time. 

"Request your credit reports from Equifax, Experian or TransUnion."

 

I try to monitor my credit.

 

I also froze my credit so people can't open lines of credit with out my pin.  Just to get a truck loan, I had to unfreeze one of them.  I ask the Credit union which one they wanted and I only unfroze it.

 

to be fully effective, one would need to freeze at all 3,  It did cost me much either.

Here is 1 link. http://www.experian.com/consumer/security_freeze.html

If you have been a victim of Identity fraud, I believe it was a free service (or cheaper)

 

This is a reminder, I need to pull one this year on myself

Edited April 11, 2015 by vontar

[R_Bert]

So, a (pretty & sharp) lawyer cuz of mine comments that LifeLock is more comprehensive coverage.

 

Thoughts?

[Sam1]

pm'd

[Sam1]

for all of you all looking for reports, http://creditkarma.com runs Transunion and Equifax reports for 100% free and you can get updated reports as frequent as every 7 days.

[R_Bert]

for all of you all looking for reports, http://creditkarma.com runs Transunion and Equifax reports for 100% free and you can get updated reports as frequent as every 7 days.

question - from what I understand, each time someone pulls a credit report, it dings credit score by 10 points.  Is this the case with the updated reports from creditkarma? (something to keep in mind??)

[wewoapsiak]

No, there are hard credit pulls and soft credit pulls.  Background checks, credit karma, etc should be soft pulls and they don't a mess with your score.  Hard credit pulls are the ones to watch out for, and they come when you apply for a loan, etc.  I had place I wanted to rent from do a hard pull and flipped, they had no clue about hard pulls vs soft pulls.

[Mike A]

question - from what I understand, each time someone pulls a credit report, it dings credit score by 10 points.  Is this the case with the updated reports from creditkarma? (something to keep in mind??)

As I understand the only inquiries that affect your score are "hard" inquiries.  When you apply for a loan, credit card, etc. the potential creditor makes a "hard" inquiry. Checking your own credit shouldn't generate a "hard" inquiry.

 

I am a slow typer.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Mike A

[R_Bert]

Learned something new.  Tnx.

[Sam1]

Correct on that stuff, the only time your credit takes a hit is when you apply for credit somewhere.

Pulling a report for yourself does not, neither does an employment check, or when you get new auto insurance etc.

[R_Bert]

FYI, you can get a free credit report from all 3 reporting companies once a year.  Time it right and you can get a free one every 4 months I believe.

On step 2. you can pick I believe all 3 or just one at a time. 

"Request your credit reports from Equifax, Experian or TransUnion."

 

I try to monitor my credit.

 

I also froze my credit so people can't open lines of credit with out my pin.  Just to get a truck loan, I had to unfreeze one of them.  I ask the Credit union which one they wanted and I only unfroze it.

 

to be fully effective, one would need to freeze at all 3,  It did cost me much either.

Here is 1 link. http://www.experian.com/consumer/security_freeze.html

If you have been a victim of Identity fraud, I believe it was a free service (or cheaper)

 

This is a reminder, I need to pull one this year on myself

Vontar,

 

Incidentally, I had several suggestions of visiting the Credit Bureau Inc Oak Ridge.  They used to be at Jackson Square, but upon arrival I found out that they had moved out. 

 

I called the # listed, and boy, was that a surreal experience.  Evasive from the get-go.  I actually had to ask them if this was the number for CBI-OR.  It took three attempts before they admitted that they had no formal office in OR, and only made appointments "depending on your business".   

 

I felt like I was dealing with a bookie.

 

So....  That one is a non-starter.

 

Looks like one almost has to wade out into the darkness of the internet, and just hope for best.

Edited April 16, 2015 by R_Bert