Identity Confusion/Identity Theft

Road-Kill Squirrel Remembered As Frantic, Indecisive
    -Headline from The Onion

OJ looking for Nicole's killer on Florida golf course
    -Tabloid

Sometimes a report nails the truth and sometimes it misses by a fair-way. In employment screening, particularly in the use of some criminal record sources, the main reason for an inaccurate report of an infraction, misdemeanor or felony under your name is that the report does not even pertain to you-it's about somebody else, whose identifying information is close to yours. Someone out there among the 300 million US citizens kind of "looks" like you. This identity confusion is usually not the result of someone stealing your identity; rather it's a result of the how the records are obtained.

For example, there is relatively little identity confusion with driving records (MVRs). While a violation shown may be the result of a mistake by law enforcement (or a violation from out of state never makes it to your MVR), chances are that an employer is not going to order an MVR on you but get someone else's driving history. This is because MVRs have good identifying information-your driver license number is unique, so no other person (in your state) will have the same number. As a back up, the MVR record contains your name, address, date of birth, physical description, etc.

Contrast this with the use of a search of a proprietary criminal record database, compiled by a private company from various public sources, which many companies use. A criminal record database search usually involves searching hundreds of millions of records, many that have a common name and date of birth. On any one day, there are many babies born in the United States with at least the same first and last name. And the day you were born, it is possible that there was someone else in the United States born with your name. Even if you think the chances are 1 in a million against this, think about it this way: there are 300 of you running around. And one or more of these people may be naughty and have criminal records-that a potential employer may order and assume belongs to you.

What can be done?

Recruiters and safety directors should understand the identity issues that come with using a database and review any records received carefully. Make sure middle names match if present. Look at the physical descriptions that come back. If your applicant is a black male and the record is on a white male, understand how this can happen given the limited identifiers used to search.

Drivers should know what will show up on a database search and be ready to dispute errors before being turned down for a job. If you're turned down for a job because of a criminal record that is not you, be sure you see the record. Even if you do legitimately have a record of your own, your record may have misinformation on it. .

Derek Hinton is the CEO of TIES, LLC, better known as www.DOTJobHistory.com. DOTJobHistory allows drivers to check and verify their employment, driving and public records. They may then make this information available over the web to employers who can access the information instantly.

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