My Online Background Check Experiment
Ever wanted to know a little more about yourself than you already do? I did so I put my name in a search engine and started an online background check
of my past. It didn't take long before I was navigating through websites and I found out where and when I was born, where I had gone to school (did that seem like an age ago!) and surprisingly some of my previous employment history.
I also found out that I had no criminal background worth mentioning (always good to know) and that my credit rating was ok. I found this quite satisfying and decided that online background searching was not only fun, but it could also be very rewarding!
Now that I'd a little background checking under my belt it occurred to me that it might be fun if I did some online background checks on my friends.
So, I chose a few good friends and wanted to discover the following in my online search...
Their date and place of birth
The name of their parents
Whether or not they had any children
Pretty basic stuff I know but I knew the answers already so I could at least verify the background check results.
It didn't take me long to collate all the information I needed plus a few juicy bits that I hadn't known beforehand. For example, one had played semi-professional sport after graduating and yet anothers credit rating wasn't very good, I wont be lending them $50's in a hurry!
Using the information I'd collated from my online background checks I created family trees for four good friends and when we next met with each of them I presented them with my gift and told them a few things about them they had not told me previously, I didn't include the credit history though.
They were amazed and delighted and couldn't believe how I'd managed to obtain this information for free online.
So, what can we learn from my first attempts at online background checks?
Well, two things, first, in today's world it is hard, if not impossible, to hide your past and present, and secondly there's a lot of information about us out there. Perhaps we should all check this every once in a while and make sure that the information is correct by doing a simple free online background check on ourselves!.
Protect Yourself From Scams - Do a Little Homework!
SCAM - - a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation...We are all afraid that some business we get into mightturn out to be a scam. But sometimes the personal needsof individuals outweigh the thought process needed torecognize that something could be fraudulent. Many peopleare looking for ways to make extra money and the Internetcan provide many ways to accomplish that need. But it canalso provide an easy vehicle for individuals to losetheir hard earned dollars.We recently did some research on a program that we wereinterested in and found that the entire operation wasquite questionable. While we couldn't prove that it wasoutright fraudulent at this point, we saw enough risksto say no, we are going to put up any money.
We alsoadvised the 90+ people who joined based on our referraland most have told us that they are passing it up too.Sometimes all it takes is to do a little checking on yourown behalf. Sure it takes time but if you invest a littleof that time up front you may save...
Protect Yourself From Scams - Do a Little Homework!
Checks > Protect Yourself From Scams - Do a Little Homework!
Eastern Coast Management donates funds to assist hurricane relief agencies operating in Brevard County
Frank P. Crivello, Managing Member, Eastern Coast Management, LLC ("ECM") and Port Offices, LLC, ("Port") announced today the companies will donate $5,000 to the Lend-A-Hand fund to assist hurricane relief agencies.
In the wake of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances, residents of Brevard County continue to need basic supplies as relief efforts move forward.Port's Managing Member Frank Crivello said: "Hurricane victims' basic needs for food, water and shelter are being met by the combined efforts of many local relief agencies, and we at ECM and Port are happy to donate funds to Lend-A-Hand since we were fortunate to avoid the worst of Hurricane Frances." Port's Member Lloyd Milliken stated: "My family and I have worked hard in Brevard County for years and have built a number of successful businesses. We are happy to give back to our neighbors when they are in need. I understand one of the biggest needs is for money to sustain the current relief efforts, and we challenge other...
Checks > Eastern Coast Management donates funds to assist hurricane relief agencies operating in Brevard County
Mail Order: "The Original Internet" Still Going Strong
While the world continues to go catatonic over the Internet and its endless possibilities, there's another industry quietly going about its business, piling up profitable year after profitable year after profitable year. What industry is that? It's the mail order industry--or as I prefer to call it, "the original Internet!"Yes, long before the birth and explosion of the Internet, mail order shopping was a hugely popular and preferred method of doing business--and still is. In fact, the Internet has actually enhanced and contributed to the overall success of mail order.The mail order industry was created by Aaron Montgomery Ward. Ward sent out his first mail order catalog in 1872--for his Montgomery Ward mail order business located at Clark and Kinzie Streets in Chicago. The first catalog consisted of a single sheet of paper with a price list, 8 by 12 inches, showing the merchandise for sale with ordering instructions.
"Ward's gradually expanded the catalog. They became bigger...
Mail Order: "The Original Internet" Still Going Strong
Checks > Mail Order: "The Original Internet" Still Going Strong
The Complexity and Risk of Check 21 Imaging Operations
New Research Report by Mercator Advisory Group - This report identifies five areas of risk involved in deploying large projects and then identifies many specific risks inherent in Check 21 and distributed check imaging.
While each individual financial institution ultimately faces its own unique circumstances, the report presents the key areas that every financial institution needs to consider and we trust that the report will be instrumental in guiding the institution's auditing of their own risk assessment effort.Before Check 21, the paying bank had both access to the physical check and the liability associated with any illegible image -- but this all changes in October when sweeping changes will go into effect based on the Check 21 legislation.
Check 21 creates a substitute check, generated from an image, that is a legal document.
The legislation also shifts liabilities between the paying bank and the bank that first converts a check into an image or accepts...
Checks > The Complexity and Risk of Check 21 Imaging Operations
Fuel Index ( A measuring stick for a company's success)
Every company has a Vision, a Mission and a set of core values. Companies develop multiple strategies that implemente the Values to realize their Mission.I always wondered,1) Is there any relationship between a company's values and it's success?2) Do a company's Values impact other factors of success?3) How do we measure that impact?Every company should have Values that increase and support higher Productivity (P), Quality (Q) of product, quality of workplace and quality of working. Every company's Values should also encourage and reward Creativity ( C ). The Values of every company should serve as a primary fuel to fan the growth of the ?company-employee' social system. For Values to produce higher Productivity and instill Creativity while upholding highest possible and attainable Quality in the process, the Values need to thrive in the air of honesty.
Honesty in a company is synonym for courage and is a measure of risk readiness and agility. I define the Fuel Index as one that...
Fuel Index ( A measuring stick for a company's success)
Checks > Fuel Index ( A measuring stick for a company's success)
Universal Background Screening Offers Next Generation Oral Drug Testing Solution for Employers
Phoenix, AZ (ContentDesk) December 6, 2005 - The oral drug testing system now offered by Universal Background Screening provides FDA-approved laboratory accuracy with quicker, easier collection.
Oral drug testing allows employers to hire new employees faster, and minimizes lost work time for testing of current employees.
Oral fluid collection is done on-site, eliminating the need for applicants or employees to travel to a laboratory collection site.Since 1996, the number of employers that conduct pre-employment drug tests has dropped from 81 percent to 62 percent, according to the American Management Association.
One reason for this decline may be the complications of collecting a urine specimen for testing."In the experience of many organizations, traditional urine drug screening slows the hiring process," said Nancy Hyttel, Vice President of Operations for Universal Background Screening.
"As the economy continues to grow, employers rapidly need...
Checks > Universal Background Screening Offers Next Generation Oral Drug Testing Solution for Employers
Advantages to Completing an Online Bachelors Degree
An online bachelors degree is a four-year college degree that an individual completes and earns through the Internet. The biggest benefit of an online bachelors degree is that it usually takes less time to complete. Most individuals can complete their online bachelors degree in as little as three years. If you have prior college credits to transfer or relevant work history to consider, then you can complete your degree in as little as six months. Another benefit to completing an online bachelors...
My Online Background Check Experiment online degree Checks
Checks > Advantages to Completing an Online Bachelors Degree
Surefire ways to make money on eBay
One of the ways to make money on eBay is sourcing products to sell.
The first questions eBay sellers should ask themselves are: "What can I sell?" and "Where can I buy?"
If you are a business seller, it is fundamental that you spend some time researching before you decide which products you want to sell.
There are nearly 69 million eBay users who spend $59 million every day.
Most eBay sellers are home-based businesses that sell everything...
Checks > Surefire ways to make money on eBay
Popular Celtic Jewelry Items
Copyright 2006 Richard Keir
While Celtic jewelry may be most popular among individuals of Irish decent, anyone is free to love and enjoy this enchanting jewelry and many do.
Frequently Celtic wedding bands are selected as an alternative to more traditional wedding rings. In many cases owners of Celtic jewelry choose to have their ring engraved. This style of Celtic wedding band is often referred to as a Claddagh ring.
Claddagh rings will generally have...
Checks > Popular Celtic Jewelry Items
My Online Background Check Experiment refinance Checks
Sam's Club Theft Puts the Cap on a Bad Year for Information Security: 2005 May Be the Worst Year for Reported Breaches in Data Security and Risk of Identity Theft.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (ContentDesk) December 19, 2005 -- Just before the start of the New Year, Sams Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., announced a security breach that exposed the sensitive data of an unspecified number of its credit-card holders. Sams Club became aware of the theft after some of its customers began reporting fraudulent charges on their credit cards. The theft put the finishing touches on what may have been the worst year ever for information security breaches -- a year...
My Online Background Check Experiment data recovery
Checks > Sam's Club Theft Puts the Cap on a Bad Year for Information Security: 2005 May Be the Worst Year for Reported Breaches in Data Security and Risk of Identity Theft.