Background Checks - Are They Reliable?

Criminals Passing Employee, Tenant, &Youth Assoc. Background Checks
Do you have convicted criminals working with or for you?
Should you be worried about the criminal background of your nanny or child's coach?
Do any of the teachers at your child's school have a criminal past?

The answer is probably YES.

Now some may say that's not possible, because they know, for a fact, their work, child care, and all their teachers and coaches must pass a background check.
The answer is still YES.

How do I know this?
I am fairly well known nationwide for performing professional background checks. For over the past 12 years I have performed over 30,000 professional background and record checks. In those years I have come across many frightening cases, including numerous checks performed on coaches and nannies that came back with duis & drug offenses, employees with theft records who have been put in charge of collecting or handling money for their employees, teachers who were charged with rape and drug offenses, and even a case where I checked a person who was convicted of murder who was hired at a pediatrician office while on parole. What is most frightening about these cases, is that I found that almost all of them involved the person passing a previous background check to attain their position.

So how does this happen?
Today many companies, youth agencies, school institutions, and individuals are cutting cost and are relying more and more on instant database background checks. The instant background check companies range anywhere from public companies such as Intelius, US Search, etc, to your more popular public and private database companies such as Choice Point and Lexis Nexis (Choice Point appears to be the current popular choice for Youth Associations (coaches) and School Institutions (teachers)).

Often instant database background checks are inexpensive ranging anywhere from $20 - $50. Their basic background check will generally check limited nationwide and state criminal databases, department of correction records, and the sex offender registries.

For instant database information, database companies rely mainly on state repository, PRIORS (Public Record Indexes of Record Searches), and national public database systems. The problem with this is that many counties dont send criminal court records to a state repository or public databases. In fact, nearly 50% of all crimes are not reported to these databases. Some states are worse, such as Indiana, in which over 70% of crimes are not reported.

These companies also check criminal information from state department of correction records and sex offender registries. Department of Correction records will often times reveal no criminal background. Most state agencies only report active inmates while nearly all do not report county imprisonments. The sex offender registry database that is run by local government agencies is a reliable a database, however the problem with most registry databases currently are that most of them are way behind on updates. New offender information and changes are taking way to long to show up in their systems.

So what is a reliable background check that is available to the public?The most reliable background check is one that not only checks multiple databases for more comparison data, but also checks criminal court case records. The most reliable source of criminal records is directly from the county court in which the crime was committed.

I would also advise a check the verifies social security number information, date of birth, aliases, and address history so you can be sure that the person the background is being run on is the correct person. There is also checks that check driving records, credit, and property information.
Now these type of checks may cost a little more than the 20 to 50 dollar database company search, but you will be confident to you know whether a person is actually a criminal or not.

What if our company or organization is unable to afford the higher cost checks?

Here are some of my suggestions to companies concerned with cost:

• Perform checks only on individuals who you plan to hire or put in position. Passing a background check should be the last process performed before position placement.
• Perform different type of background checks based on position. For example, it may not be necessary to perform a driver license or credit check when it is not applicable.
• Perform your own reference checks. If you have the time, why pay for someone to check with past employers, education institutions, and character references. Plus my experience has shown that references are willing to divulge more information to a hiring company than a outside company that performs background checks.
• Have your future hires, or placements share the cost. Most persons are willing to share the costs if passing the background check is the last step to attaining the position.

If you should have any question or concerns on this post, or if you are interested in having background check run on an individual, please contact us.
Ken Burbridge Licensed Detective - State of Indiana
President/Owner - Burbridge Detective Agency
Accredited Member - Better Business Bureau
Member - Nat. Assoc. Investigation Specialist
Burbridge Detective Agency, LLC
1457 E 84th PlaceMerrillville, IN 46410
Phone - 219-629-3260
Fax - 219-940-3926
Web - http://www.burbridgepi.com/
Detective License #: PI20700205

Contractor Fraud - Indentifying and Preventing

Avoiding Contractor Fraud



Contractor fraud cases are quit common throughout the country and have been for many years. And now with the economy on a downturn and businesses laying off construction workers, its worse than ever. Each week, I alone receive 3-5 complaints from clients who state they were scammed by their contractor. The normal scam case consist of the contractor taking 1/2 up front to start the job, and then disappearing before job completion.


Now there can be many reasons why a contractor cant or wont finish a job upon completion. Here are some common reasons used by contractors:

1. The contractor recognizes they underbid the job.
   The contractor will generally blame the customer for this, because the builder or contractor who worked previously on the area being worked on did a horrible job, and they have to fix it. Or they may state the customer changed the specification slightly to cause the cost to go way up. Underbidding is very common with more and more layed off contractors performing side jobs. There is a lot of competition now causing a lot of underbidding.


2. The contractor is behind on jobs.
   Some contractors love to use this reason when their robbing Peter to pay Paul. There in financial trouble and they need to collect on jobs sold to pay for materials to complete existing jobs.


3. The parts or materials needed are on back order.
   Similar to reason stated before, contractors may use this reason to stall while they collect on sold jobs to pay for backed up jobs. In any event, if the contractor is experienced and knowledgeable at their job, there going anticipate any type of delay caused by the scarcity of parts and materials. At time of sale, experienced contractors will probably factor these delays in on the job completion time.


4. The contractor is a con artist.
   These contractors come in and extremely underbid a job. They generally will provide false names and business cards that have prepaid trac phone numbers on them. The normal method of sales performed by these contractors are done door to door (very common for driveway paving workers and roofers). They also love to follow storms by canvassing areas that were hit by them. They commonly like to tell people they would be willing to make an insurance fraud deal on repairs so both parties can pocket on overpaid claims. They will just about say anything to get the customer to pay some up front money so that they can disappear.

Here are some ways to avoid being a victim of contractor fraud:

1. Always have a contract written up and have both parties sign it.
   This contract should always include job specifics, estimated cost, start date, & completion date. Please note that most states have instituted contractor laws. Some states now state that contractors now can be fined a substantial amount for working without a contract. The law may also include a percentage amount that the contractor cant go over listed on the cost estimate.


2. Always check the contractor out before hiring.
   A good source for checking contractors is the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org). They have a brand new system that now rates companies from A to F. The system factors in years of business, complaints and disputes, dispute resolutions, customer service, etc. There are also companies that are accredited members of the BBB. These companies have an agreed standard contract with BBB that they must follow. BBB will get involved with accredited companies that do not follow the standards of being an accredited member. Thus customers are provided assurance that they will not be scammed by these accredited members.


3. Find a company that accepts credit cards.
   Generally this may be best method of insuring that your dealing with a legitimate company. I wont say that all companies who do not accept credit cards are scam companies, however I will state that nearly all companies that do accept credit cards are legitimate businesses.In today's business, it is extremely easy for a businesses to accept credit cards. There is absolutely no reason why a business would not take credit cards, other than that they may not want to deal with charge disputes. To win a charge dispute, the customer must prove that they paid for a service that was not received. Now the credit card companies are generally not going to charge back charges because the customer is unhappy with the interpretation of the service. They generally just want to know simply whether the service paid for as stated on the contract was performed.

It can say a lot about a business who wont take credit cards, because the business is worried about the accountability of performing a service they charged for!

If you have been a victim of contractor fraud and you need help, or if you want to check out a contractor before hiring, please contact us.

Ken Burbridge Licensed Detective - State of Indiana
President/Owner - Burbridge Detective Agency
Accredited Member - Better Business Bureau
Member - Nat. Assoc. Investigation Specialist
Burbridge Detective Agency,LLC
1457 E 84th Place
Merrillville, IN 46410
Phone - 219-629-3260
Fax - 219-940-3926
Web - http://www.burbridgepi.com/
Detective License #: PI20700205

Cheating Spouse Investigations - Infidelity Warning Signs & Investigation Tools

It is strange how people now view infidelity as it has almost become an expected behavior. It is amazing that businesses and individuals spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on protecting their assets from theft, yet we feel uncomfortable about protecting are biggest asset, our spouse.

Just for a second, lets forget about the emotional impact infidelity may cause and lets figure out the monetary value of your relationship, and what you stand to lose if that partner went away. Could you afford to lose 50% of the value of everything you own? Could you continue your standard of living if you lost your spouses income? Would you need additional assistance with child care? Would you need to find another residence?

There is just so much to lose. Being prepared for that loss emotionally and financially, before a cheating partner takes everything away, can only help. This article will provide information to identify signs of infidelity, and equipment helpful in gathering evidence of infidelity.

Warnings Signs:

• Does your partner suddenly care more about their appearance?
  Are they working out more and are they buying new clothing and sexy undergarments (thongs,g-string,etc)?
• Is your partner more concerned with your schedule?
• Is he or she spending more time on the computer when you are in bed?
• When you interrupt computer activity does he or she quickly click through pages using the mouse?
• If you have access to cell phone activity, do you see similar numbers showing up at specific times, such as during breaks, lunch, or while transporting to and from work?
• If you dont have access to cell phone activity, when you ask for the activity, does your partner get defensive and is quick with responses of anger and statements such as “dont you trust me!”?
• Is your partner, all of sudden, working longer or unusual hours?
• Are you receiving frequent private calls when the caller hangs up when you answer?
• Are you noticing odd vehicles parked down the street from you?
• Are more of your cell phone calls to your partner going to voice mail?
• When your partner comes home, does he or she immediately go elsewhere to change, use the bathroom, or go elsewhere in the home first before approaching you?
• Does your partner own a calling card?

Investigation Tools:

• Phone / Room / Vehicle Voice Recorders - capture conversations on phone, room, or vehicle.
• Covert Vehicle Tracking Devices - know exactly where vehicle is or has been.
• Computer Monitoring - record key strokes and computer activity.
• Hidden Cameras - video record activities while your present.
• Detection Equipment - Semen Detection on clothing and material & Lie Detection.
• Reverse Cell Phone Lookup - Find out who owns the cell phone and their billing address.
• License Plate Lookup - Know the identity of person your spouse is committing adultery with.
• Hire Private Detective - Document and record spouse activities.

If possible, never reveal or confront partner during mid investigation. Wait until you have as much factual evidence so you can dispute any comebacks, lies, or excuses the partner may reveal during the confrontation.

Furthermore, try to prepare yourself for less emotion during the confrontation. Approach yourself as an investigator. You want to present facts and watch and learn from your partners emotional reaction. Their reaction may reveal how you should take the next step in your relationship.

Always remember when your partner is guilty, they will always try to lay the blame on you. You should never feel guilty for your partner's infidelity.

License Plate Number Search - Avoiding Scam Sites

You have just become a victim of a crime, and despite your loss you feel slight comfort in the fact that you were able to attain the license plate number on the vehicle driven by the person who victimized you.

Now you go to the internet for help in possibly identifying the criminal. On the internet, you find numerous sites that either provide instant record searches or promise unlimited searches. Your slightly confused, but your able to do some research in price comparison, and you go with the site that appears to be the cheapest. You even do a preliminary search with this site by entering the license plate number and state , and the site states they have a record for you. All you need to do now is to pay a membership fee. Hey, no big deal, the payment convers searches for an entire year. So you pay it.

Then comes the confusion. Your either linked to another site that wants another payment per record, or your provided company site links to choose where to purchase the record from.

Wait a minute! Didn't you just pay for the record? They said they had it, and all you had to do is pay the membership. This ain't right!! Oh no, you just been victimized again!!!

Knowing Scam / Misleading Sites:

How were these sites created?
Since the beginning of the web, people have always come up with unique ways to make money. It began innocently as an information resource which was soon followed by companies with sites trying to reach more customers. Then came advertising soon followed by individually owned sites. Soon anyone could have a site, including anyone who wanted to make money. Individuals with sites quickly found ways to advertise on their site pages which included pop up ads or advertising banners that linked people to other sites. Then came the ultimate idea of charging people just to view their site and links. They would then call it an exclusive membership, and that all the professionals and experts use and endorse them.

What do membership sites generally do?
Someone in the beginning got an idea that they could make money by having people join there site. The site would provide some general information and include links to other sites so people could find whatever they needed. First came sites such as Net Detective and Web Detective. Soon after a few years, dozens of these sites appeared such license plate search, reverse license plate lookup, government records, unlimited searches, instant backgrounds, reverse phone, and so on and so on (just about anything with reverse, unlimited, instant, or government in their web address).

What is the problem with these sites?
First, its the way they advertise. They fool customers into buying a membership by making them believe they deliver the information the customer is seeking. The may state they have unlimited access to records, or they may provide an instant search menu where a person enters phone number, license plate number, or name, and then they state they have a record or the information your seeking. Regardless what these sites state, they do not have the information nor do they deliver the record. What ends up happening is that either they provide a list of links for members to choose to go to, or they automatically link the member to another site. In the end, the customer pays money for a middleman to direct them to sites or a site that was already searchable through search engines for free.

Second, they flood the internet with dishonest sites?What happens when you flood the internet with sites that dont deliver what they state? The honest companies get pushed down in search engine rankings, and people just wont trust any site, regardless if the site is legitimate or not.Each day we receive dozens of calls in reference to whether we are legitimate or not. It does not matter how many warnings we post about the member sites, we still get calls from customers complaining that they paid membership fees to 3 different web sites and they did not get what they were promised.

How do I recognize the honest from the dishonest sites?
Very easy - if the site does not provide a phone number to call them, then stay away from that site.

How do I get my money back from these sites?
The best way to attain a refund is to call the phone number associated with the charge. That number should be posted on your paper or online payment card statement. Then state you were misled and you want a full refund. You will be surprised, when these companies receive the call, how fast they process your refund request. Its like they anticipate that your call is about attaining a refund. See, they know what their doing is wrong. There hoping, or better yet, counting on the fact that your are too busy to get your refund.

If calling and asking for a refund does not help, then I would advise disputing the charge with your payment card company. Now, I do not advise doing this initially. Many of these sites have fine print at the bottom page of their site that state what membership covers, and that fine print may be enough for the customer to lose a dispute if the site decides to respond to the chargeback. Plus there is a reason why credit card fees are going way up and more and more internet providers are going to paypal. There are just too many chargebacks being made and lost by customers which take up time and money.

Ken Burbridge
Licensed Detective - State of Indiana
President/Owner - Burbridge Detective Agency
Accredited Member - Better Business Bureau
Member - Nat. Assoc. Investigation Specialist
Burbridge Detective Agency,LLC
1457 E 84th Place
Merrillville, IN 46410
Phone - 219-629-3260
Fax - 219-940-3926
Web - http://www.burbridgepi.com/
Detective License #: PI20700205