Applicants resort to identity theft to obtain employment

In desperate times, desperate people will do anything to get a job. An estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of job applicants provide altered or fabricated information on their applications last year, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. “Businesses should expect that number to rise during tough economic times”, says Bill Morrow, CEO of identity theft protection company CSID.

“In dire situations, people will try anything and everything to obtain a job. If that means stealing an identity to conceal a criminal past or hide other indiscretions, people will do it,” Morrow said. “Now is the time when companies need to invest in comprehensive security checks and ongoing monitoring to ensure they keep their employees and customers safe from identity thieves.”

CSID offers businesses comprehensive and accurate background checks so human resource managers can make the best hiring decisions possible. CSID SAFESM (Security Authentication For Employees) is a Web-based pre-screening application process that includes identity verification, authentication and ongoing monitoring, including checking an applicant’s education history.

“The problem with typical background checks is they trust the applicant to be honest when providing information, but they don’t know if the applicant is providing the right name, the right Social Security number or anything else. It could easily be a lie,” Morrow said. “CSID SAFE verifies the information to ensure the identity exists and then authenticates that the identity belongs to the applicant. These extra steps are necessary to ensure identity thieves don’t sneak their way into your employee ranks.”

To keep employees, customers and businesses safe, CSID SAFE continues to digitally monitor employees during their employment. Its ongoing monitoring alerts human resources managers to any changes in the employee’s record (i.e., DUI or felony charge). This helps catch employees who may have been in the process of being charged for a crime when the original background check was run, which would not have appeared until he / she was convicted and the hire was already made.

Bill Morrow is chairman and CEO of CSID, an identity theft protection company that offers a comprehensive suite of business and personal security solutions targeting all aspects of identity theft. CSID’s comprehensive Security Suite provides the industry’s strongest protection solutions, including identity validation, comprehensive background screenings, identity theft protection and data breach management.