Getting the Lowdown on That Resume-Bearing Stranger
When you order supplies or equipment for your business, you do your best to make sure they’re suitable, reliable and of the highest quality. Do you do the same with the people you work with? Before you take on an employee, a consultant or even a major customer, it makes sense to get as much information as you can to to help you the right decisions.
The Internet can help. To begin with, you may be able to find free information about people simply by using a search engine. Unless the person is prominent, you almost certainly won’t find them listed in Yahoo or any of the “directory” search engines that are basically tables of contents.
But you’d be surprised at the people you might find using AltaVista.com, Google.com, Northern Lights or the other “spider” search engines that scour the Internet for just about any reference to any word or name.
Try it with your own name or the names of employees, co-workers or friends to see what comes up. You might not find anything, but then again, you might.
If the name is relatively uncommon, like mine, probably all you have to do is enter it directly or put it in quotes so you don’t get extraneous information. But don’t forget variations of the name.
If you search for my name on the Internet, for example, you’ll find listings under “Lawrence J. Magid” and “Larry Magid.” If the name is common, you might want to add a qualifier. When I looked up my friend with a common name, I got far too many results. But when I typed his name followed by “and” plus the name of his city, I found a handful of hits that told me a bit about his professional and personal life.
Of course, not all the information might be relevant. Be especially careful about what information you use to make decisions regarding credit, employment or other activities that are regulated by state, federal or local laws. When in doubt, check with a human resources specialist or an attorney before using any information you obtain via the Internet or any other source.
A far more systematic way to get information about people is with US Search (https://www.ussearch.com). The company, publicly traded on Nasdaq (SRCH), provides online access to public records about individuals and businesses. The company offers a variety of search services including court records, judgments, bankruptcy filings and other public records.
Charges start at $10 for a bankruptcy search. For $39 you can get a public record report that includes current and previous addresses going back 10 years, available listed phone numbers, relatives associated by last name and address, others who have used the same address, neighbors with available listed phone numbers, spouses, civil judgments, bankruptcy filings, professional licenses, property ownership and value and lien filings.
For $8 more the company will search several additional databases, including active U.S. military personnel, boat registrations, business affiliations, FAA aircraft registrations, FAA pilot licenses, federal firearms and explosives licenses, national DEA controlled substance licenses, national deeds, national marine radio licenses, trademarks and the American Business Information directory.
I did a basic search on myself and most of the information it turned up, though often irrelevant, was accurate. Whether or not someone needs to know the address and fellow tenants in the apartment house I lived in 20 years ago is questionable, but that, along with how much I paid for my house, the name of my spouse and the names and addresses of my neighbors is all there.
The report also says that I’m CEO of a construction company that I’ve never heard of, but other than that there are no inaccuracies.
The service also provides an employee-screening search for $69.95. This search provides current and previous address information, names associated with a Social Security number, criminal records searches and employment verification.
US Search points out that use of this information is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which limits what an employer or creditor can do with the information.
The site provides information that explains how the FCRA works and what you need to do to be in compliance.
The service offers a number of additional reports, with varying charges. In a few cases, the information is returned within an hour by e-mail, but some reports can take up to three days. In addition to ordering reports via the Internet, you can order them by phone at (877) 327-2450.
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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard at 2:10 p.m. weekdays on the KNX (1070) Technology Hour. He can be reached at larry.magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld.com.
