Background Screening Tips & Tech

Identity Verification The old tools simply don't work any more. Applicants looking to deceive employers and background screeners know how to provide false identifiers. The question is, can they be stopped. The SSN Trace can present RED flags, but it's not a tool that can be used to VERIFY IDENTITY. Consent Based Social Security Number Verification/Consumer Based... Great tool, but they r...

Changes to CRIMINAL record searching in California is leading to MASSIVE problems In this episode I share details on how things used to work in California when it came to searching for criminal records prior to the Hamrick case. I also share the impact that the Hamrick case is having on criminal court research for a time and cost perspective. Please stick around until the end to hear my recommenda...

Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance When did it take effect? Who does it apply to? What changes do you need to be aware of?   LINK TO THE ORDINANCE LNK TO THE INDIVIDUALIZED ASSESSMENT FORM LINK TO FACT SHEET Watch the VIDEO Version of the PODCAST HERE

Court Access Fees on the RISE... Why? Court access fees are on the rise.  What does that mean to the screening industry and the clients that we serve? In years past we would see updates to court access fees maybe every quarter or every six months. In the last year we are seeing updated court access fees every month and the additional fees to access court records are starting to stack up. By my cal...

Los Angeles County - Dates of Birth Removed? The Los Angeles County Superior court has announced that partial dates of birth will be removed from the public kiosks and from the court website. What does this mean?  How does it impact you?  The Los Angeles County Superior Court announced on February 20th that as of the close of business on Friday, February 23rd that partial dates of birth will no lo...

PBSA is celebrating 20 years. They are are a force in supporting and enhancing the background screening industry worldwide. PBSA 2023 (Texas) LOCATION: Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center (Grapevine, Texas) WHEN: Sunday, September 10th through Tuesday September 12th  On this episode of Background Screening Tips and Tech, Tim Santoni provides some insights into the show. It's not too...

Kevin Bachman Interview Kevin was a key executive at Employment Screen IQ, which was acquired by Sterling. He consultants with industry professionals and works with end users, CRAs and data furnishers. He is the The CRA Doctor. He is active with PBSA and has served on the BSCC committee. Kevin and his partner Jason Morris now run IQubed advisors. On this episode we talk about... How to build the V...

Tech Stack The 7 Apps/Tech/Software you need to run a better a business. 1.     Office 365 or Google Apps (email) 2.     Accounting Software w/Payment Processing (QuickBooks or XERO 3.     DocuSign or Panda Doc 4.     Cloud Storage:  DropBox, OneDrive, Google Drive 5.     CRM – Salesforce, Zoho, ? 6.     Email Marketing (MailChimp, ConvertKit, Constant Contact) 7.     Team Messaging Platform (Team...

SSN Trace... Show it or Hide it? On this episode Tim Santoni discusses the history of the SSN Trace. What it's good for. What it's not good for. The legal/compliance arguments for including the SSN trace in the report and why it might be better to run it and hide it from the report. A few options to consider. OPTION 1 -Run the SSN Trace and include all of the results in the report with n...

Derek Hinton - CRA Zoom- Interview On this episode of Background Screening Tips & Tech, Tim Santoni interviews Derek Hinton of CRA Zoom. They discuss Derek's history in the screening industry, the PBSA Accreditation process and why it is valuable for background screening companies to complete have it.  They also dive into the services that CRA Zoom offers. Stick around until the end to le...

Background Screening Packages... so many options At a bare minimum the social security number trace and national criminal database search are the typical starting point for most screening packages.  The national criminal database has obvious flaws, but this search also covers high level government watch lists and sex offender registries, so it is something that employers are comfortable with as a...

Social Media Screening... current trends Statistics- many employers are using Social Media to screen applicants, but the big question is are they doing it themselves or are they using an FCRA compliant screening partner. The current available sites being searched by the AI and Technology Solutions available cover PUBLIC profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & TikTok. Trends- as pr...

CRA Help Desk The CRA Help Desk is a great tool offered by BRB Publications.  The CRA Help Desk offers state & FCRA compliance and reporting guidelines when it comes to reporting of criminal records. If you are a researchers handling compliance and adjudication this tool is a must have. The HR Help Desk is an 'add-on' option for Background Screeners that want to offer similar resourc...

On this episode of Background Screening Tips & Tech we review the CourtSmart Product from Equifax. With the recent changes forcing redaction of PII by courts in California this product is a great solution. Tim Santoni discusses how the solutions came to be, the pro's, the con's and dip into a bit of compliance. For more information on the CourtSmart product CLICK HERE This episode is...

California Legislative ALERT California again proves to be a challenging state for background screening industry as evident from the most recent legislative session. We are still early in the legislative calendar for 2023 but information I want to share is CRITICAL because employers and background screeners need to be prepared to engage and take action. CA SB 647– Is a bill to restore access to fu...

The PBSA 2022 annual conference was held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado On this episode of the PODCAST I share some insights, favorite sessions, event recap and much more.

PBSA 2022 'The Preview Show" PBSA Annual Conference (LINK) On this PODCAST Tim Santoni highlights the tracks for the PBSA Annual Conference in 2022. Legal Compliance Business International Drug Testing Tenant Screening Tim also points out the sessions and speakers that he will be focused on at the show. IQubed Advisors (Jason Morris, Kevin Bachman & Nick Fishman) Pam Devata, Seyfarth...

Tim Santoni interview Gary DeWitt, President of Epic Concepts. Gary is a veteran of the background screening industry (30+ years). He has owned a Background Screening Company (Vericorp) and he now runs Epic Concepts which is a software platform used by Background Screeners (CRAs) and data furnishers/providers. Gary continues to be excited about the Background Screening industry and the suite of &q...

Kirill Klokov, the CEO & Co-Founder of TRUV joins Tim Santoni on the podcast. Kirill shares his story from an immigrant needing to get a loan without a credit history and how that impacted the quoted rate.  Kirill got his MBA at Standford and has worked at SIDEKICK, CARTA, TRUST WATE & EZHOME.  Kirill launched TRUV in lated 2021. TRUV is a technology that background screeners (CRAs) and mo...

Tom Pilkington ROLE: Strategic Customer Success Executive at MeridianLink Tom has vast experience and knowledge of the background screening industry. 1) Industry experience & current role at Tazworks/MeridianLink 2) Tom shares insights into the transition of Tazworks being acquired by MeridianLink and what that means to Tazworks clients 3) What's new at Tazworks? New advancements in the p...

James Tunkey of I-OnAsia joins the podcast. We discuss these topics. 1) What is top risk factor that comes with not screening international employees?   Risk Factors Defined   Who does I-OnAsia work with in uncovering RISK FACTORS?   What are the problems with PROPER background screening & investigations (INTL)?   Problems with most investigation & screening practices 2) Best practices on...

On this episode I talk about the issues that the social security number trace / person search / address history can cause as part of a background screening report. Generally speaking the SSN trace is bad data. The true source of the data cannot be confirmed and it cannot be verified. The legal guidance suggests that the SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER TRACE should no longer be part of a background screenin...

The Tazworks / MeridianLink user forum was held in Huntington Beach, CA. This podcast is a recap of the event.

The new landscape, the new technologies, and the new players.  On this episode Tim Santoni talks about the new technology and providers that are looking to get around employment verifications that previously required The Work Number. The providers that Tim talks about are list below. Measure One TRUV SJV (now Inform Data)

The date of birth redaction changes in Michigan and California are causing issues. On this episode of background screening tips & tech we dive into the current state of affairs and provide some updates. It is no surprise that the DOB Redaction changes in Michigan and California are impacting criminal case research.  The turnaround times are up and the ability to verify records is challenging....