In light of recent headlines focusing on the protection of consumer information, we feel it relevant to reinforce the priority BIS places on protecting both your and your applicants’ information and maintaining the highest level of privacy. BIS understands that the information we provide can be damaging if put into the wrong hands.

While no security program can be deemed impenetrable, BIS mitigates any potential breach through the use of the following tactics. For security purposes, this list is not all inclusive:

BIS confines the scope of our business to the pre-employment screening market segment (there are other permissible purposes for Consumer Reporting under the FCRA, but we intentionally limit our efforts to our area of expertise)

Limiting our focus to the pre-employment screening segment is a very significant distinction. The security breaches that have made recent headlines resulted from granting access to a massive "proprietary database" of consumer information to fake companies that did not have a permissible use for that information. These databases are used for many purposes other than pre-employment screening, and not all of these uses are as heavily regulated as pre-employment screening. BIS maintains no proprietary database of public records. We go to the public record source (county/federal courts, credit bureaus, state agencies, etc.) for each and every screen we perform.

BIS verifies that all new clients are registered businesses and maintain an active license through state incorporation records

During the account setup process, BIS obtains a copy of the current business license from the prospective client and cross checks validity through state incorporation records.

BIS conducts a physical inspection of the administrative offices of ALL privately held clients

The credit bureaus have strongly recommended that all Consumer Reporting Agencies conduct a physical inspection of the administrative offices of privately held clients that will be requesting credit reports. Anticipating the current trend, BIS adopted and surpassed this recommendation in 2003 by requiring a physical inspection for all new privately held clients, regardless of the service(s) they intend to use, to verify a legitimate business operating under the registered name and location, and establish a permissible use for obtaining Consumer Reports.

BIS estimates and monitors screening activity on a per client basis to ensure it is appropriate for a business in said industry of similar size

BIS contacts clients if there is an unexpected "spike" in demand to explore the reason and any service enhancements we may be able to provide.

BIS cross checks each client against a monthly watch-list furnished by the credit bureaus

BIS takes very seriously the trust that our clients place in us to maintain strict legal compliance and respect for your candidates’ privacy. We will continue to develop standards and practices designed to protect that trust.