05/23/2012 - The Dangers of Offshoring Background Checks

The Dangers of Offshoring Background Checks

We’ve been seeing the stories in the news regularly; more and more Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) are closing offices here in the United States and are sending the work to large call centers overseas. While this practice provides CRAs increased profits along with cheaper production and labor costs, it causes immeasurable problems for employers and consumers.

Before considering a person for employment, the employer has their candidate complete an application and release form. These documents include all the information required to complete a thorough background check, and include the applicant’s full name, date of birth, social security number, driver’s license number, etc. The release of this Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to a foreign call center greatly increases the potential for identity theft. Once this information is in the hands of a foreign entity, protection from US privacy laws melts away. The victim has little recourse.

Due to these concerns, companies that offshore PII to process backgrounds checks rarely disclose this practice to their clients. Candidates applying for jobs have with these companies have virtually no idea their personal information will be sent overseas.

Rest assured that BackTrack takes their responsibility to protect PII seriously. All processing of your background screening reports are performed by our employees in the United States. Each of our employees is subject to a full background check before hire, is required to sign a confidentiality agreement, and is trained from day one as to the proper handling of secure and confidential information. Our staff additionally undergoes annual reviews of security and confidentiality procedures. BackTrack’s computer network has a multi-layer defense security strategy and we have been “Safe Harbor” Certified since 2007.

BackTrack values the trust of their clients and will maintain legal compliance and respect for the privacy of applicants by maintaining all PII and processing of your background check reports within the United States.

Interested in protecting your applicant’s privacy? Contact BackTrack at (800) 991-9694 for more information.