Helpful Tool to Identify Fake Academic Credentials

Diploma Mills are on the rise and chances are you've seen them used on the resumes' of job candidates you have considered for employment. The question is whether you caught it our not. The Federal Trade Commission has published a helpful tool for employers to consult in order to combat fake degrees when performing Education Verifications:

Avoid Fake-Degree Burns By Researching Academic Credentials

Helpful Details Include the Following:

You can use the Internet to check if a school is accredited by a legitimate organization at a new database of accredited academic institutions, posted by the U.S. Department of Education at www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation. (There are a few legitimate institutions that have not pursued accreditation.)

To find out if an accrediting agency is legitimate, check the list of recognized national and regional accrediting agencies maintained by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation at www.chea.org.

Sage Advice Regarding the Internet & Background Checks

I stumbled on this blog posting on Entrepreneur.com concerning the use of google to screen employees. I think this is great advice for the most part. The only question I would raise is that even if there was a policy in place for checking on-line information as she suggests, the argument could always be raised that subjective or impressible criteria was used when the adverse decision was made.

A Case for Continuous Employment Background Checks

The President of Washington-based Dollarwise payday stores, Charles Seil was operating his business from a prison cell over the summer. A pretty cool trick if you ask me, but the State of Washington didn't think so when it found out after the fact. In fact, they revoked his license after getting an anonymous tip that he plead guilty to watercraft homicide and had been serving time.

Now, Mr. Seil was not an employee of his company so I doubt he would have instructed his people to run recurring background checks on him to allow for continuous employment, however if the state, which issued his license didn't get this anonymous tip he'd still be operating his business. What could the state have done?

We've written much about the concept of Continuous or Recurring Background Checks recently:

Background Checks for Current Employees

Well, they did perform a background check to issue the license. However, that background check was conducted well before this incident took place. If the had a program in place to update the information, they could have caught this.

The same concept applies to any employer. It's great that so many organizations see the value in conducting background checks in order to make an informed hiring decision. But, that check doesn't guarantee that something hasn't happen since the time that the applicant hired.

Check out the links above for some suggestions on how to effectively screen your current employees.

Interesting Article on Background Checks and Social Networking Sites

Thought you might enjoy this article on the use of Social Networking sites in the background screening process entitled "More Firms Screen Social Sites". As most of you know, I am highly opposed to this practice and think this article does a nice job at framing the issue. I also found it refreshing to see that some universities offer guidance on what is appropriate content for posting. Lastly, I agree with this take offered by Human Resources Executive.

Screening candidates using these social networking sites may seem like a good idea, but companies who engage in the practice could be opening themselves up to potential violations of personal privacy and equal protection laws, according to the magazine Human Resources Executive.

Xtra Cheezhead Post on Social Networking & Background Checks

Check out my recent Xtra Cheezhead post concerning the use of Social Networking Sites in Background Screening process.

I found a great interview in SmartMoney Magazine with employment attorney Jeanine DeBacker on the topic which highlights her thoughts on this practice and the potential for litigation.

Click here to view the full post.

employeescreenIQ Releases Latest Newsletter

We've just released the latest edition of our Quarterly Newsletter, The Verifier. Please feel free to check it out.

http://theverifier.net/index.php

Australia - Why do background checks?

An interesting article about doing background checks in Australia. It seems in theory that our Aussie friends are a few years behind us, but still seeing the importance of doing employment screening. Check out this article, Protect yourself from fraud in the Herald Sun.

Staffing Management Magazine

Our friends at SHRM posted our trends article in Staffing Management Magazine this month. See our latest article 10 Background-Screening Trends to Track in 2008. Feel free to comment below! As always, all of our media postings can be found here.

The Ohio State University Admits Three Sex Offenders

So three of my esteemed colleagues emailed me this story which was published in Ohio State's student newspaper which reveals that three graduate students were admitted to the school with even though they were registered sex offenders. At the time of admission the school did not ask those that applied to enroll at the university if they had been convicted of a felony "in the past several years" as it now does.

Each person who emailed me the story wondered whether I would fry my own Alma Mater for this lapse in security the way that I have other academic institutions (see previous blog posts)over the past several months. The answer is yes and no.

One of these grad students was a teaching assistant who worked directly with students. Therefore, I'm towing the line on this one. There is no excuse whatsoever for a university not to conduct a background check at least on those that are charged with the education of its students. Furthermore, the school doesn't claim that the loop hole has been closed by now requiring background checks. It says that it closed the loophole by asking if they had been convicted of a felony. Are you joking me? How many of those with felonies are going to answer honestly? There is no excuse for not requiring a background check.

I don't know what to make of the remaining grad students who were characterized as "research associates" and didn't have any supervision over others. I guess that falls into my next opinion or lack thereof about the next topic that arises from this article: Should schools conduct background checks on students? This question is being contemplated in many circles now and could be an emerging trend in the near future.

I'm sure most would expect me to immediately say "yes" to that question since I am in the business of providing background checks. I can see how knowing of particular offenses would cause a university to question a prospective student's suitibility for enrollment. Let's look at a couple of things. Most undergrads that enroll are 18 or under. What would a background check reveal? I know juvenile records cannot be used for employment, so I would assume that couldn't be used for this purpose either. Next, what type of offense would constitute being denied admission and how can it be applied consistently? Until I get a clearer understanding of how a background check would be executed, what sources would be utilized and how decisions are made, I'm staying on the fence.

Next question. Should grad students be treated differently than their undergraduate counterparts? Maybe. Certainly if they are teaching other students. Even if they are not, grad students are typically older than undergraduates and arguably have higher standards for admission. The older part helps as far as providing a bigger picture for potential criminal records.

Since I have copped out a bit on this issue by not taking a side, I would like to invite your opinion or expertise on this subject. What do you think? And by the way, no comments about our heartbreaking loss to the Illini last weekend. We'll bounce back against the enemy to the North this Saturday.

Take a Look Around Your Workplace

Over the years, we have done enough employment and education verifications that few things surprise us. We have seen some interesting trends develop over time though. Applicants often fudge, obfuscate, or outright lie about the details of their employment history. Dates of employment, salary, title, their reason for leaving. Something does not quite match up. But applicants really don’t invent employment history. We don’t see applicants who claimed to work for IBM for 3 years, when in reality they never set foot in the door.

However, education verifications are a different story. We commonly see applicants who claim education credentials they did not earn. Master’s degrees. Bachelor’s. High School diplomas. Think of the notable stories you have seen in news over the years. Football coaches, CEO’s, College Deans. How many were about their employment history, and how many were about the educational background?

Approximately 2% of the time, we find candidates who did not earn the degree or diploma they claimed to. It’s across the board too. Companies who think their applicants are different? We actually see a higher percentage of fraudulent claims for clients where a particular education level is a requirement of the position. 2% sounds like a small figure. Is it? Look around your organization. How many people work for your company?

Colleges & Universities Starting to Buy in to Background Checks

Well, it certainly took them long enough to catch up to the rest of the country, but we are finally seeing some positive trends when it come to higher education institutions and background checks. I found this great article, Checking Up on Your Past on insidehighered.com (I'm sure today's college students get a kick out of the name of this on-line publication).

The article focuses on last week's annual meeting of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (who knew there was such a thing? but I bet you background screeners will be flocking to it from now on). Evidently, the topic of background checks was all the rage. Noteworthy in this article is a study conducted by Stephanie Hughes, an assistant professor of management at Northern Kentucky University on the use of background checks among universities. See a snapshot of results below.

- 13% of university's polled never engage in criminal background checks
- 87% perform checks for some staff positions
- 40% screen for some faculty positions
- 26% conduct checks on some student workers

These are good stats, but a little misleading since "The way the survey was phrased, a “Yes” answer meant only that in some cases, a person in that category would be subject to a background check. That means that a college that would investigate a potential professor being hired in a field where security clearances are necessary or for work with young children would have answered Yes even if the vast majority of professorial hires are never subjected to a criminal background check."

Good article and even better trend nonetheless.

International Background Checks - The New Frontier

One of the newest trends in the employment screening industry is the rise in International Background Checks. For years U.S. employers have searched for ways to screen their foreign employees with little success. In fact, for many years employeescreenIQ was one of the few companies that was able to adequately offer this service on a consistent basis. employeescreenIQ has not only serviced our thousands of U.S. clients internationally but also helped many foreign companies as well. Our client base spans many different nations including a few that our supporting our troops in the middle east. We were one of the first firms to be Safe Harbor Certified and have maintained this certification since 2004.

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has formed a new committee to help screening companies expand their services in a legal compliant manner. As many of you know I have been very involved in NAPBS since the beginning and I applaud the association on this effort.

See Release:

New International Alliance Aims to Strengthen Background Screening and Security Worldwide

American Organization Takes Lead Role in Effort

Durham, NC (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 -- As global terrorism and violence have become a strong reality in our current era, security has developed as a focal issue for companies and organizations that seek to hire talent from other countries and/or establish operations abroad. In response, the representatives of the global background investigation and screening community have formed an international alliance designed to facilitate collaboration and networking among screening firms on all continents, and in countries as diverse as Canada and India. More

10 Background Screening Trends for 2008

We're big ERE fans here and are honored that they published our release entitled 10 Background Screening Trends to Track in 2008.

Have a look.

Checking In On Your Current Employees: Recurring Background Screening

I hate to blatantly copy a post I've made elsewhere, but I'm rather impressed with myself (or at least the topic) on this one I recently posted on Xtra Cheezhead. See below.

Okay, so you’ve conducted a background check on a prospective employee and decide that they meet your standards. You extend an offer and that person accepts the job and becomes a valuable member of your team. Now that the person has been hired, most companies would not be inclined to consider further background checks. Well the times, they are a-changing.

While the concept of follow up background checks has been around for a long time and employed by security conscious organizations, you are seeing this emerging trend creep into the consciousness of your average business. It even has a shiny new name that many are using: “Infinity Screening”. I’m a big advocate of this practice because it allows you to evaluate your current employees for adverse information throughout their employment. An easy example is conducting annual Motor Vehicle Record check on those that drive company cars.

Please click on the link below to view the rest of this post:
http://www.cheezhead.com/xtra/2007/09/07/post-employment-screening/

Feds set to punish employers for illegal workers

Second on our list of coming trends presented to the 2007 SHRM annual conference in Las Vegas was "verification of right-to-work." In a nutshell, the push is to force employers to utilize DHS' Basic Pilot Program for instant, electronic I-9 verifications. It's great in theory but employers have been slow to embrace the instant electronic confirmation of work eligibility.

Colorado has already mandated this tool for employers, and Arizona is set to enforce stiff penalties beginning in 2008, to include potential revocation of business licenses, for employers that fail to comply, or knowingly employ ineligible workers.

A recent article, "Employers brace for immigration rules", discusses a new tack the federal government is considering. Whether or not any employer nationwide utilizes the basic pilot program, the Social Security Administration has historically flagged SSNs that didn't jibe with identity info on record. "No match" letters have always been sent to workers and employers, but left it up to the employee to resolve the issue, with no culpability on the employer's part.

The proposed new rule will put the onus on the employer to make sure the issue is resolved within 60 days, or they must fire the employee outright. Failure to comply means the employer may be deemed as having knowingly hired illegal workers, and face stiff penalties. This will be an obvious incentive for employers to utilize the electronic instant verification system (basic pilot program), but doesn't appear to specifically mandate it (we can probably assume mandated use of the system won't be far behind).

2008 Trends in Employment Screening

We recently released our thoughts on the upcoming trends in employment screening and are thrilled that someone actually picked it up! Experts Reveal 10 Background Screening Trends in Coming Year was recently published on HR.BLR.com

Hope you find it interesting.

Interesting UK Study on Social Networking Sites Role in Hiring Decisions

Have you noticed a recent trend in this blog of chronicaling the role Social Networking sites play in the hiring process? This story isn't going away and neither is the trend for employers to go on-line to learn about their candidates. This study conducted in the UK by Joslin Rowe, a financial services recruiter finds that 20% of the employers polled said that they used social networking such as myspace to find out more information about their job applicants. The poll says that 68% of respondants claim to have used search engines. While I question the sampling of employers used in this study, these numbers do suggest that more and more employers are using the internet as a means to qualify candidates. And while this study reflects employers in the UK, this trend no doubt exists throughout the industrialized world.

Here's a question though. I don't have numbers to support this assumption (although I hardly doubt that I am far off here), but I am guessing that most people over the age of 35 don't not have a facebook or myspace account. Using this logic, that means that this practice is being used primarily for candidates just entering the workforce up to those looking for second and third jobs. What are these employers doing with the rest of their candidates? What qualifies as information that would prevent an individual from being employed? Who decides? How is the information found verified to ensure both that it is true and accurate?

All lot of questions. We don't have the answers. I'm sure this won't be the last entry on this topic.

Social Networking Sites and Employment Screening Continued

The debate about the use of social networking sites as an acceptable means for evaluating potential employees continues to grow. We remain opposed to this practice, but rather than write volumes on why we reject it, thought it made sense to provide a quick illustration.

Amy Polumbo was recently crowned Ms. New Jersey and seeks to become Miss America. As most young adults do, she posted non-pornographic pictures of herself with her friends on her private Facebook site. Yes, some were a bit risque, but overall they were benign pictures of a college aged woman having fun with her friends. Someone has gained access to these photos and threatened to blackmail her with them. Rather than give in, she decided to release them herself as you will see in her interview with Matt Lauer from the Today Show.

No, she wasn't being considered for a job, but one person putting their own spin on these photos and attempting to portray Polumbo in a negative light threatened her ability to attain the position of Ms. America. It's easy to draw a correlation to how such a thing can happen in the employment environment. It doesn't even have to be a blackmail situation. All it takes is an Internet savvy individual browsing a social networking site and then whatever is found can be interpreted in many different ways.

International Background Checks

As more organizations participate in the global economy, international background checks are becoming increasingly important.  However, as opposed to conducting background checks in the United States, the rules and methods for doing so are not clearly defined.  For instance, the type of information varies from country to country.  By and large, the most common types of overseas checks are limited to Criminal Records Searches, Employment and Education Verifications and Terrorist Watch List Searches.  However the depth and detail of information can differ greatly by country. 

Further, there is no international version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that governs the use of background checks.  Organizations can become Safe Harbor Certified with the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Such a certification mandates some general best practices when it comes to applicant authorizations and the transmission of private information across international borders.  In general, it is best to afford overseas applicants with the same rights as domestic applicants when no clear regulation has been established (i.e. dispute resolution).

Lastly, since every country operates differently it is important to know where to access information, what information is needed to locate records and what you can expect in terms of results, turnaround time and cooperation. 

A good screening partner should be able to help you with direction and recommendations on all of the above.  Know of any?