Low Cost Background Checks are High Risk Option for Employers

Stamford, CT, May 1, 2013 – Low cost background checks may save a company money, but “going cheap” can boomerang when new hires or executives involved in mergers and acquisitions are not properly screened.

“Comprehensive background research is critical to the due diligence process if a company wants to avoid damaging and embarrassing personnel mistakes,” says Michael Levien of LexPro Research LLC. “Low cost background check providers try to save money by only searching for select information, such as bankruptcies or only criminal records in one jurisdiction, potentially leaving the customer with a false sense of security.”

According to Levien, “There are $99 background checks advertised on the Internet, but they are probably not even worth 99 cents in our opinion.”

Here are some problems that Levien sees with cheap background checks:

  • They often do not include manual searches, multiple jurisdictions, and name variations.

  • For common names, a company may simply get a “data dump” with numerous “name match” records that do not relate to the person of interest.

  • Many services advertise a “nationwide criminal record search,” although no such search exists.

  • Some firms are outsourcing background checks to China or India, abandoning all local expertise and knowledge.

A proper background check should include the following:

  • Full identification of the individual (including name variations such as prior names or aliases).

  • Regulatory searches, professional license and educational degree verification (if applicable), and comprehensive media searches (not just Googling someone).

  • Determining the jurisdictions in which the person has lived and worked, and then conducting proper research in those jurisdictions

  • Manual searches. “This is vital,” says Levien, “because many jurisdictions do not make their records accessible electronically or online. In other words, a trained researcher must physically search the records by hand.”

LexPro Research is a leading provider of domestic and international risk mitigation background checks, and business intelligence services to the corporate, financial and legal communities. For information on LexPro Research, call 203-921-1281 or visit www.LexProResearch.com.

 

 
 

It all started when...

The following is placeholder text known as “lorem ipsum,” which is scrambled Latin used by designers to mimic real copy. Vivamus sit amet semper lacus, in mollis libero. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae. Vivamus a ante congue, porta nunc nec, hendrerit turpis.

Suspendisse nec congue purus. Vivamus sit amet semper lacus, in mollis libero. Nullam sit amet nisi condimentum erat iaculis auctor. Donec eget risus diam.