Trust, but Verify.

A BackCheck client seeking to hire a candidate performed a ‘Right To Work Verification’, which was clear.  The candidate had indicated that they had no unspent criminal convictions on their consent form so they appeared to be an ideal candidate for the job.  The client followed up with a Basic UK Criminal Disclosure, and found in fact that the candidate had 12 criminal convictions, one of which had led to a 16 year jail sentence.  The offences ranged from theft, robbery, wounding with intent, and using a firearm with intent to resist arrest.  Trust, But Verify.  This client’s prudence saved them from making a big mistake.

Criminal Record Check Uncovers an astonishing 96 Convictions

A woman applied to work at a call centre. On her BackCheck consent forms she claimed to have been convicted of assault. Her criminal record check told a different story: it turned out that this candidate had 95 other convictions including theft, counterfeiting, forgery, fraud, armed robbery, drunk driving, and more! The lesson learned is that we shouldn’t trust the honesty of criminals.

Beware - Reluctant Candidates May Have Criminal Record (or Worse) to Hide.

BackCheck received a call from a client who had discovered that a new hire had been caught stealing from the till, and had been doing so since he was hired.  The client had closed the candidate’s file because the candidate had failed to provide the information needed to process the check.  After the hire was caught, the client discovered that the hire had a lengthy criminal record.  Had the client completed the check, they would have been spared the trouble of hiring a criminal.

Criminal Record Checks Reveal the Untold Past

When a recent health care candidate provided inaccurate information about his identity, BackCheck cross-referenced the consent forms with the candidate’s photo identification revealing that he lied about his name and date of birth. The criminal record check uncovered several offences including two incidents of sexual assault. BackCheck’s meticulous cross-referencing of data during criminal record checks catches the candidates that may otherwise slip through the cracks.

Reference Checks Uncover Fraudulent Activity

BackCheck’s HR Interviewers are experts in identifying nuances of speech during the reference interviews they conduct, and carefully pursue clarification of discrepancies. When a candidate’s reference hesitated in explaining why the candidate had left their prior position “to return to school,” BackCheck asked for additional details. The reference stated that the candidate had left to go back to school, but had also demanded to continue to be paid, even though they were no longer employed. BackCheck’s investigative techniques frequently uncover fraudulent activity in all sectors of employment.

BackCheck Reveals that an Applicant Attempted to Steal from a Customer!

BackCheck contacted a reference that the applicant claimed was a former supervisor. The reference seemed suspicious, so the BackCheck representative decided to contact the restaurant location directly, and discovered that the reference provided had not worked there. Upon speaking with the real restaurant manager, BackCheck discovered that the applicant's employment was terminated because they had attempted to steal a customer's wallet!

BackCheck reveals that both Applicants and References Lie

A reference told BackCheck that she had known the applicant for several years and provided positive details pertaining to the applicant’s work history. BackCheck then contacted the company directly to verify the applicant's employment. The HR manager at the company checked employment records and found that the company had never actually employed the applicant! Upon further examination and contact with the applicant and reference, BackCheck discovered that the reference was in fact the applicant's mother, who had provided a false reference for her daughter.

Employment Verifications Prevent the Hiring of Deceitful Employees

BackCheck maintains proprietary internal databases that include the HR contacts of thousands of organisations and companies across the UK, North America and Europe. Our proprietary information ensures that our HR Interviewers verify information directly from the source. When a recent candidate impersonated an HR contact in an attempt to provide an employment verification, BackCheck was able to catch the candidate in the act, and notify the client of the candidate’s deceitful behaviour.

Worker Disappears for Several Months

BackCheck contacted an applicant's current place of work to verify their employment as a network technician. Upon contacting the HR manager, BackCheck discovered that the applicant was not currently employed as claimed. Apparently, the applicant had disappeared from work for several months and then suddenly appeared at the company asking if there was any work available. The HR manager proceeded to state that the applicant is definitely not eligible for rehire at their company.

Theft Revealed

BackCheck contacted an applicant's previous place of employment to verify employment dates and details. The Regional Sales Director verified that the applicant had indeed resigned from their previous role; however, the applicant had been told to resign or the police would be called. It turns out that the applicant had been selling products under the table and pocketing the cash for the better part of a year!

Recognising Diploma Mills

The applicant claimed to have attended Canterbury University. BackCheck’s database indicated that there were two schools by this name. One was a legitimate university and the other was a known diploma mill. BackCheck contacted the client for the location of the school to confirm which school the applicant was referring to. The applicant then sent in a letter meant to prove that the school was accredited. BackCheck was able to confirm that the school was not a legitimate institution. We then proceeded to verify two other credentials provided by the applicant which also turned out to be false claims.

Liar caught out by BackCheck attempts to cover his tracks

An applicant claimed that he had achieved a 2:1 BSc Degree in Business Information Technology from Manchester Metropolitan University.  He was “absolutely astonished to hear” that BackCheck had uncovered that he was actually awarded with a 2:2.  When confronted with BackCheck’s discovery the applicant stated he was “gob smacked”.  In his defence, he claimed he was originally given a 2:2 but then appealed and consequently received a letter stating that his degree classification should have been a 2:1.  Unfortunately for the candidate, BackCheck investigated further with the University and their records did not back up this claim.  They confirmed that he did appeal but this was not upheld and his classification remained as a 2:2.

Identifying falsified CVs

While attempting to verify an applicant’s credentials, BackCheck was informed by the Records Department that they were unable to locate any record of the applicant. Since BackCheck was not provided with the applicant’s student number, we contacted the applicant to request this information in case the school was mistaken. When the applicant was contacted, she admitted that she had never attended the school and had “mistakenly” added it to her CV.