Pre Employment Screening Articles

Many people wonder what the deal is with ridiculous spam messages such as these:

F A S T T R A C K D E G R E E P R O G R A M Obtain the degree you
deserve, based on your present knowledge and life experience. A prosperous future, money earning power, and the Admiration of all. Degrees from an Established, Prestigious, Leading Institution. Your Degree will show exactly what you really can do. Get the Job, Promotion, Business Opportunity and Social Advancement you Desire! Eliminates classrooms and traveling. Achieve your Bachelors, Masters, MBA, or PhDin the field of your expertise Professional and affordable Call now - your Graduation is a phone call away. Please call: 1-206-888-2083       

This is what’s referred to as “Diploma Mill” spam. If it sounds shady, that’s because it is. In fact it’s 100% illegal to sell fake diplomas, and more importantly it’s a crime to represent yourself as having earned such a degree when applying for work.

The spam operation works like this:

- A sponsor handles the printing and shipping of the fake diplomas.
- Sponsor contacts spammers / mailers in the hopes of drumming up leads
- Spammer sends a message to millions of recipients (who probably, like me, don’t want them)
- Inevitably one or two of them call the number, which is a voicemail prompt which reads as follows (for the number above, anyway - it varies):

Thank you for calling the university degree program. After the tone, please leave your name and two telephone numbers. One where you can be reached during the daytime hours and one for evenings.

Please do speak clearly after the tone. One of the registrars will be in touch with you shortly. Thank you and have a nice day.

From there, the spammer provides your voicemail response to the diploma sponsor. Lately that process has become a bit more labor intensive for the spammer, since (of course) so many people DON’T want to be contacted regarding this so-called “offer.” As a result, several angry recipients of these emails have left voicemails in the hopes of tracking down who is behind them. This leads to issues for the spammer, who previously used to just hand over the voicemails only to be told by a pissed-off diploma sponsor that 4 out of 5 of the calls were angry complaints, or legitimate sounding responses that led to an angry person at the other end of the phone when it came time to reel them in.

So now the spammers have to filter out the complainers from the legitimate people who want to illegally purchase their fake diplomas.

You’ll notice that they word the voicemail in such a way as to indicate that you’re undergoing some University-style admissions process. In reality this is, as one might expect, a purely commercial process. You want the piece of paper. They want your money. No background check takes place. No school transcripts of any sort are required. All you need is a credit card and an address to ship the phony diploma to. And you’re done.

The hazards involved with this flatly illegal practice should be obvious to anyone. Would you trust any new doctor with a diploma on their wall if you were aware that any percentage of real people actively spend their money on these documents? Would you trust a new hire in any field if they presented you with this document as evidence of their expertise? Would you trust a contractor to make any repairs or modifications to your property if they claimed to have a degree or diploma claiming their excellence at what they do?

This kind of fraudulent representation has already happened, and led to some horrifying consequences. In 2003 one Laurence Perry was convicted of manslaughter. He took an 8 year old girl off her insulin and she died. Later, it was discovered that he represented himself with fake medical degrees. That’s an old story, so in all likelihood he’s out of jail by now.

A similar story unfolded as recently as a week ago, when “Doctor” John Curran was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering, after he “treated” 18 year old Taylor Alves in 2002 for terminal ovarian cancer. He basically ruined her life, which was already in jeopardy after such a crushing diagnosis. He’s behind bars for 12 years.

Certainly it’s not only medical degrees or MBA’s which are on offer from these operations.

The sponsors behind these illegal documents treat it as though it’s any other product. One member of bulkerforum.biz (among numerous others) who goes by the name of “Princess” is clearly very experienced in this field. She posted the following back in October of 2007, and apparently generated quite a bit of interest:

Topic: Mailers needed

Hi all.
for those who do not already know
I Sponsor a University program.
I am looking for more mailers to join our mailing group because my program is expanding.
A leads related program.
Pay starts at $18 to $20 depending on volume, for a good lead.

I use a non URL add that works through an email voice mail system, there is a phone number in our adds.
Only USA or Canada leads needed.
A qualified Mailer should be able to generate at least 10-20 good leads per day.
12 leads *$20 = 240$ USD a day
The conversion our good mailers have, is 70% good leads and about 30% bad. They make from $500 to $1500 weekly.
Payments, sent weekly via Bank Wire or WU.

Thanks Dianna

Cute. “Princess” Dianna wants to sell us fake degrees.

She continued to push this promotion several more times right through November 2007.

Note the specificity of what constitutes a “good lead”. No websites, period. This is probably due to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of sponsors such as Craig and Alton Poe, back in December 2004. You can read a brief description of their conviction here. The story itself is quite entertaining not only because it involves lowlife criminal spammers going to jail, but also because of how it came to the attention of the Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General:

Colby Nolan  is probably the first animal to hold this distinction — an executive MBA from a university.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert isn’t amused, since Colby is a pet cat and a Texas-based online college allegedly gave the feline a degree for $399.
…
Pappert’s office used the pet cat to investigate an alleged scheme designed to promote and sell bogus online academic degrees.

The main reason it was so easy to prosecute them and send them to jail is because they gathered their so-called “diploma leads” via easy to identify websites. Diploma sponsors couldn’t ignore this and so they adopted a variety of alternate methods of generating the leads, most notably via throwaway voicemail phone numbers.

None of this makes the practice any more legal, or any more legitimate. If you attempt to use a fake document to gain employment, that’s a crime. in the United States: It’s a federal offence. Several states have begun cracking down on these illicit operations, and more than half of the states in the US have specific laws on the books regarding the sale of these documents, or the use of them as personal documentation.

As with most other types of spam-related crime, this is generally considered a variety of fraud.

In the case of the Poe brothers, they also generated fake grades transcripts, which is a further federal offence.

As with most other products promoted via illegal spammers: you should avoid these at all costs. Princess said it herself: “It’s so simple just too good to be true.”

There is a fantastic blog which tracks illegal diploma mills called (appropriately) diplomamillnews.blogspot.com. Definitely worth a read.

One can only hope that spammers convicted of this type of fraud end up being represented by lawyers with similar “credentials.”

Source: http://ikillspammers.blogspot.com/2007/12/fake-diplomas-are-illegal.html

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 Last March, an airline employee in Orlando, Fla., was caught sneaking guns and marijuana onto a plane. The arrest of the man, who was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison, highlights the need for more stringent background checks of licensed airport workers.

While air passengers have become accustomed to going through the security checkpoints put into place after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the logistics of operating an airport make similar requirements for all employees virtually impossible. That is why it is so important that workers go through thorough background screening before being hired to work at airports.

We hope those checks become stricter next month when the Transportation Security Administration takes over the job of investigating the backgrounds of approximately 1.2 million licensed aviation workers. The checks had been handled by the Federal Aviation Administration since 9/11.

The switch comes as the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to crack down on the possibility of an attack being perpetrated by workers who are not required to go through security checkpoints to get on an airplane or enter a sensitive area.

Under the TSA, every licensed aviation worker will be checked against the federal government’s complete terror watch list, which is operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FAA only has utilized a partial list in its screening of 21 types of FAA licensees, including flight instructors, air-traffic controllers, dispatchers and flight engineers.

The TSA already conducts background checks on many non-licensed airport employees, such as baggage handlers and store clerks. We think having licensed employees go through the same process will help make security more consistent and tighter.

With the new system, licensed aviation workers will be rechecked every time the Terrorist Screening Center’s database is updated, helping ensure that employees’ information is matched against the latest available data. The FAA currently only checks people when they apply for an aviation worker licenses. Limited resources prevent the agency from conducting ongoing updates.

We agree with TSA officials that the new process will raise the baseline of security at the nation’s airports and help passengers feel a little safer when they head off into the sky.

Source: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/OPINION01/712050301

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A resume is a modest document - a dry, page-long summary of achievements that, while failing to capture what writer Richard Price calls “the wonder of me,” makes a serviceable introduction between job seeker and job giver.

And according to many experts, it’s more often than not a steaming pile of bovine feces filled with fraudulent academic credentials, mysterious omissions and wildly embellished job descriptions.

“When some people start dreaming up resumes, they go into an almost novelistic mode,” says Michael Hershman, president of the risk-management firm the Fairfax Group, who cites studies that say fully 70 percent of resumes include a “major misstatement of fact.”

“I think there’s a lot of fraud, personally,” agrees Dorothea Gaulden, a former executive and author of the business ethics tome “Right Makes Might.” “Fraud is everywhere.”

Paul Viollis, the CEO of Risk Control Strategies, a Manhattan security screener for high-end clients, estimates conservatively that six of 10 resumes include “exaggerated or blatantly fraudulent” information. Other experts put the number between 10 and 20 percent.

Some claim resume fraud is on the rise - while others disagree, all concur that people are getting nabbed more often, due to a steep rise in background checks.

And even if claiming a Harvard degree when you actually flunked out of CUNY gets you in the door, misrepresentations can come back to haunt their perpetrators. That’s been demonstrated by a number of recent incidents, which experts say have caused employers to look at resumes more closely.

Former MIT Dean of Admissions Marilee Jones resigned in April after an anonymous source tipped off her egghead associates that she’d fabricated academic degrees when applying for her first job at the university in 1979.

Last year, Radio Shack CEO David Edmondson switched off his career at the electronic retail giant after press reports that he’d fudged information about academic degrees he didn’t receive. Ditto football coach George O’Leary , who was hired and then fired by Notre Dame, for citing phony academic credentials.

The most common misrepresentations are academic degrees, previous salaries and haziness about gaps in employment, says Jason Morris, COO of employeescreenIQ, though he adds that some misrepresentations are honest mistakes or miscommunications.

By: Brian Moore

Source: http://www.employeescreen.com/blog/2007/12/hires-and-liars-employeescreeniq-quoted.html

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The odds of needing a drug test to either get a job or keep it have increased in recent years.

Terry Narum, president of SecurScreen in Minot, estimated that 60 percent of new hires take pre-employment drug tests today.

“The bigger businesses are pretty much all doing it,” Narum said.

SecurScreen, which has operated in Minot for several years, is among local companies that offer drug and alcohol testing among their services. Testing can include pre-employment, random, return to duty, follow-up and post-accident.

Trinity Health’s occupational health program has offered drug testing for a number of years and has seen the demand for services remain strong.

On Oct. 1, Brenda Borders opened Northern Testing in Minot. She previously worked in the drug and alcohol testing field in Minot and has been involved in workforce safety for about 15 years.

Preble Medical Services, based in Mandan, opened its first office 20 years ago and now has additional offices in Minot and Fargo. It is considering adding two more offices in the state.

“It’s a growing business,” said owner Mary Ann Preble, Mandan. “We are getting more and more companies that just want to make sure that their new hires especially, when they put them on, that they are drug-free.”

More employers also are motivated by discounts offered on their workers’ compensation premiums if they test, Preble said. Post-accident testing is popular because if workers’ compensation finds drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident, the employer’s liability is lessened.

Preble said the interest in drug testing is statewide, regardless of location or size of community.

“It’s not just the big companies or the big cities,” said Narum, whose travels have been to places as small as Columbus or Willow City.

Testing companies now commonly offer on-site screening to employers, even in rural communities.

Borders said as larger numbers of employers screen out applicants through drug testing, more of those rejected job seekers will end up at the doors of employers who don’t screen. That increases the pressure on those employers to implement testing.

“Companies don’t really want to have to spend the money, but they are becoming forced to,” she said.

However, she said testing protocols can be affordable. For instance, a company with 100 employees may be able to fund a testing program for less than $700 a year, she said.

The savings to companies comes in the assurance of a reliable work force with less turnover, Borders said.

“In the long run, it does help you find a better quality employee,” she said.

Darrell Roos, president of Northern Tier Federal Credit Union, said the credit union looked at the labor market generally and decided to implement drug testing about two years ago to head off potential problems.

“It’s so costly to train individuals and get them going that any tools we can use beforehand that will give us a little better chance of having a successful hire are well worth it,” he said.

The pre-employment testing and random testing of all employees also offers a sense of security to employees and credit union members.

“In our case – having people dealing with other people’s money– our members have a right to know that the people here are trustworthy and that they are drug-free. A drug-free work place is important to us,” Roos said.

Jerry Frye, safety director at SunPrairie Grain, said the government requires drug and alcohol testing for its drivers, which adds some expense, but can be taken care of conveniently with on-site testing.

SunPrairie has elected to purchase pre-employment testing as well.

“Now days it just seems like it’s the going thing,” Frye said. “You have to protect yourself from every angle.”

Federal and state governments have laws that set protocol for testing in safety-sensitive positions. Testing in the transportation industry goes back to 1989. Bus drivers, railroad engineers, airline pilots and pipeline workers now are among occupations where testing is required.

In addition to occupations where safety is paramount, jobs that require a level of public trust are increasingly looking to drug testing. Borders said some telemarketing firms are enforcing drug-free work places at the insistence of clients, who want assurances about employees who handle financial information.

Because some employers have their own protocols for testing, procedures related to testing can vary.

In general, the test most commonly used checks for PCP (phencyclidine), amphetamines, marijuana, cocaine and opiates.

If results of tests are positive, a sample goes to a laboratory that further defines the results and involves a physician in determining whether legal or illegal use of a drug is occurring.

Even when a laboratory is involved, employers get results back quickly, often the next day.

Small employers are able to join with other employers to create a pool of workers for random tests. Narum said SecurScreen typically tests 20 percent of a pool annually. However, because pools are random, some employees may be tested more than once.

Local companies offering the screening also assist employers to develop and administer drug and alcohol testing policies. They provide training to supervisors and educational sessions to employees so they know their rights and what the testing entails.

Local testing companies also sell instant test kits to parents for use at home, or will conduct confidential tests in their offices at the requests of parents

By: JILL SCHRAMM

Source:http://www.minotdailynews.com/News/articles.asp?articleID=16566

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Any new doctor in North Dakota will be fingerprinted and have a background check. The State Board of Medical Examiners just started the new policy this week.

The background checks will give the board the same kind information law enforcement has access to.

Legislators passed a law this year that made background checks mandatory for many positions like teachers and officers and authorized checks for other professions.

Duane Houdek with the North Dakota State Board of Medical Examiners says in the past there have been physicians who have applied to practice in North Dakota who’ve had criminal histories.

This will catch those applicants before they are hired.

(Duane Houdek / ND State Board of Medical Examiners) “That patient physician relationship is one of the closest you can have. So it is of the utmost importance that we know that persons background. If there’s any criminal activity or any charges that would lead to possible imparment of that relationship.”

Houdek says about half the states do background checks on physicians. He says this policy may help keep physicians with criminal histories out of North Dakota

 Source: http://www.kxmb.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=183138

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The FCRA (which governs all background agencies), mandates that a job applicant must be notified, in writing, that a background check is being done and what it may include. They must be given a “summary of their rights under the FCRA”. They must also sign a release form with identifying information. These notifications and release forms may be obtained from the background agency.
Criminal files are public records, no release is required. A signed release is required for Previous Employment Inquiries, Credit History, Education Verification and Driving History.
Bottom line, there is nothing sneaky about doing a background check. The applicant knows about it, and agrees to it, in advance. Any information provided that is used to make an employment decision must be job related. The law also requires that you notify the applicant of the decision using “Adverse Action” letters.

When you sign up with a background agency, make sure they know all applicable laws and have all forms required by law.

Remember, it only takes one bad hire to devestate your business.

Source: www.findtheliar.com

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BOULDER — The University of Colorado plans to make background checks a part of all hires and promotions after a former employee with a criminal history was accused of slashing a student with a knife.

The new policy will probably be in place by Dec. 1, said Gloria Timmons, director of employment services at the university’s Boulder campus. 

Kenton Astin, 39, was accused of attacking freshman Michael Knorps on the Boulder campus on Aug. 27, the first day of classes. Knorps was hospitalized briefly.

Astin had been a temporary worker in the CU food court earlier in the year. In 2001, he was sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo after allegedly stabbing a Longmont man.

Astin faces charges of attempted murder and assault in the attack on Knorps. Astin is undergoing an evaluation at the mental health institute.

Current university policy requires background checks for applicants seeking security-sensitive positions, such as patient or child care jobs, or positions with access to drugs, master dormitory keys or confidential data.

Boulder campus Chancellor Bud Peterson announced after Astin’s arrest that the background check would be changed.

The University of Colorado System, which oversees all three CU campuses, is also reviewing background-check policies.

-Rocky Mountain News

Source:http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/19/cu-start-background-checks-workers/

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Over the past few years pre-employment background checks have gained significance for employers big and small. Companies can either execute the required activities in-house or can outsource them to Human Resource companies that specialize in carrying out background checks. There is a lot of paper-work, co-coordination, and follow-up that goes into conducting a background check and for these reasons companies prefer to get the job done by an outside agency.

The background checks have to be done in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). According to the FCRA, an individual who earns less than $ 75,000 per annum cannot be reported for criminal acts that are more than seven years old. Also, the checks can only be done with the signed consent of a job seeker.

Companies that wish to execute background checks should do so as a matter of policy and should make this known to job seekers. This acts as a deterrent for applicants who intend to hide information. If an external agency is hired to do the check then one should check if the agency is compliant with FCRA requirements, relevant state and federal laws, and the equal employment opportunity laws. The sources from which the company obtains its information should be verifiable. Normally, the information is acquired from consumer reporting agencies that report on education, credit history, and criminal records. A standard employee background check verifies driving and credit records, employment background, Social Security Number, education, and military background. The check can also include drug tests and checking on references provided.

The nature of the background check varies with job requirements. For example, drivers are normally subjected to a reference check that is more strict and their motor vehicle records are looked at more closely. Similarly, the credit records of accountants and those who may be required to manage a company’s finances are scrutinized more than the records of others.

When availing the services of an outside agency, factors such as the extent of the check, nature of information desired, contact points at both ends, and person assuring the accuracy of information provided should be decided beforehand. The contract between an employer and a third party Human Resource company should address privacy and discrimination laws, timeframe for submitting information, indemnities, insurance against errors and omissions, and evidence of professional liability. Employers should compare the data obtained from various sources during the process of a background check.

Information in a job applicants resume should be checked with facts stated in the job application. There should be no inconsistencies in the information provided in the cover letter and facts offered during the interview. Common things that are cross-checked include the Social Security number, education, and the date of birth.

Stanley Alpin recommends Background Check Guide for more information on ordering an employee background check.

Source:  http://EzineArticles.com/?How-An-Employee-Background-Check-Works&id=196204

By Stanley Alpin

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A former caregiver with a history of arrests has been sentenced to a year behind bars for stealing from an elderly couple, but not before the judge lashed out at the agency that endorsed her without conducting a criminal background check.

Enfield Superior Court Judge Howard Scheinblum sentenced the former caregiver, Elizabeth Arter, 45, of Hartford to a year behind bars last Thursday for cheating the elderly Granby couple out of $800 while she provided medical care for them in 2006.

Arter was convicted of fourth-degree larceny in the case. But what perturbed Scheinblum more than Arter’s crime was that Jewish Family Services of Hartford, a referral agency with a bank of caregivers, had endorsed Arter even though she harbored a lengthy criminal history. At that time the agency had not conducted a criminal background check on Arter.

“Health care providers need to do a better job on background checks,” Scheinblum said in Superior Court. Arter’s criminal history includes multiple charges of larceny, possession of marijuana, prostitution, and breach of peace, according to the affidavit supporting her arrest.

Officials at Jewish Family Services said they take the matter “very seriously,” and have since implemented criminal background checks for the caregivers they refer.

Previously, they had relied on strong references and traditional background checks, Anne Danaher, executive director of Jewish Family Services, said Monday.

The company began conducting criminal background checks of its caregivers in September 2006, about two months after the incident involving Arter.

“At the time when (Arter) was working through us, we didn’t do criminal background checks,” Danaher said. “Now we look extensively into their criminal backgrounds.”

Last year Arter forged a $600 check and charged the couple an extra $200 for her services, the affidavit says. At the time, she was acting as an overnight caregiver in the couple’s Granby home.
She was hired to provide care for the elderly husband, the affidavit says.

Arter charged the couple $600 for her services, which were only supposed to cost $400, the affidavit says. After contacting Jewish Family Services, the couple was refunded $200, the affidavit states.

A month later, when the elderly woman was looking over her bank account balance she noticed a $600 discrepancy, the affidavit says. Her bank found later that it was a forged check, endorsed to Arter, the affidavit states. Arter was originally charged with fourth-degree larceny and second-degree forgery in the case.

During the sentencing hearing, Arter’s lawyer, Carmine Giuliano, told Scheinblum that Arter had a drug problem and should be commended for seeking treatment and “trying to straighten herself out.”

“She never had any self-esteem,” he said of Arter. “She deserves another chance, despite her record.”

But Scheinblum stood behind his decision.

“I give you credit for trying to turn yourself around,” he told Arter in court. “But I can’t ignore your offense.”

By: Jenna N. Carlesso, Journal Inquirer

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Neil Mahmoud had every reason to live. Newly married and on the verge of a career as a computer programmer, the 23-year-old student saw little peril in his job at an Apple Valley convenience store. The job entailed ejecting the occasional troublemaker, of course, and just this July Mahmoud tossed out two young men who tried to rob the place with a pellet gun. But the neighborhood was regarded as supremely safe, and locals were shocked late last month when Mahmoud was found on the shop floor bleeding to death from a gunshot wound. How could such horror invade a tranquil town?
It invaded not because a criminal came to call, but because the store’s owner had recently purchased a gun. The weapon was meant to deter robbers and protect employees, but — as too often is the case — ended up underwriting a tragedy. The person who shot Mahmoud, police have determined, wasn’t an intruder. All evidence suggests that Mahmoud shot himself — accidentally.

The accident may seem a fluke, a rare and unfortunate happenstance hardly worth a second thought. In truth, Mahmoud’s needless death vividly illustrates the folly of counting on guns for safety. Thousands of accidental gun deaths occur in this country every year. The key to reducing the number is clear.

More than a decade ago, a study from the New England Journal of Medicine found that private gun ownership heightens a household’s risk of homicide threefold and raises the likelihood of suicide five times above that of a gun-free household.
In short, having a gun close at hand is generally more dangerous than not having one. Plain logic suggests that this is true not just on the home front but in the workplace as well — and research bears out the speculation. Workplace violence has become an American commonplace, and those who study it insist that blessing the presence of guns on the job can only bring more bloodshed.

As researcher Dean Schaner has argued in a book about employer liability, “It is far more foreseeable that an employee will be injured in a workplace full of guns and an environment reminiscent of the Old West, than one in which weapons are prohibited.”
All tragedies give rise to a flood of “if onlies.” Surely all who cared for Neil Mahmoud are consumed with thoughts about how his life might have been saved. Yet such thoughts should preoccupy not just those mourning this charming young man, but all Minnesotans. This tragedy teaches a lesson to which employers — and all of us — should hold fast: To keep the workplace safe, banish weapons.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5619483.html

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