Top Background Screening and Checking Providers

Workforce Magazine has republished its ‘Hot List’ of the top background screening firms which is based on the number of employment background-related screenings conducted and Kroll Background Screening Group leads the pack and Hireright has been added.

Click here to see the full list of the top background screening firms: http://www.workforce.com/tools/hot_list/HL12_12_05.pdf

Diploma Mill Nightmare Continues

• There are more than 300 unaccredited universities now operating. While a few are genuine start-ups or online ventures, the great majority range from merely dreadful to out-and-out diploma mills-fake schools that will sell people any degree they want at prices from $3,000 to $5,000.
• It is not uncommon for a large fake school to "award" as many as 500 Ph.D.'s every month.
• The aggregate income of the bad guys is easily in excess of $200 million a year. Data show that a single phony school can earn between $10 million and $20 million annually.
  
• With the closure of the FBI's diploma mill task force, the indifference of most state law enforcement agencies, the minimal interest of the news media, and the growing ease of using the Internet to start and run a fake university, things are rapidly growing worse.

The scary part is that this data is based on research from the early 2000’s and it is highly likely that these institutions have significantly increased. The lack of law enforcement resources focused on eradicating these fake degrees virtually ensures they will continue to proliferate. The best defense is educated employers who verify the credentials of new hires to ensure they have valid degrees.

For more information go to: http://www.degree.net/html/diploma_mills.html

KPMG Corporate Finance’s Valuation Update for the Security Industry

The security industry maintained consistent deal flow through the month of July as highlighted by the following publicly announced news and transactions:

• First Advantage Corporation acquired Refsure Worldwide Pty Ltd., the leading provider of employment background screening services in Australia and New Zealand. Refsure provides screening programs to multinational and local companies in financial services, telecommunications, and retail industries. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This deal comes on the heels of First Advantage’s May 2005 acquisition of Quest Research, a provider of background screening services in Asia. With these acquisitions, First Advantage has established itself as the leading provider of employment screening services in the Asia-Pacific market. (July 24, 2006)
  
• ChoicePoint Inc. announced their intent to divest various business segments following a company-wide strategic review. As a result of the divestments, ChoicePoint has revised their business segments for financial reporting purposes. The business services segment has been broken out into two segments: the screening and authentication service segment and the financial and professional services segment. ChoicePoint released 2005 segment results from continuing operations under their new configuration. Screening and authentication services revenues of US$242 million in 2005 accounted for 26.5 percent of total revenues. For 2005, screening services recorded an operating profit margin of 24.4 percent. Furthermore, the segment realized 11.3 percent organic growth and 13.8 percent growth including acquisitions. For the first quarter 2006, screening and authentication services reported revenues of US$61.8, a 23 percent operating profit margin, and an internal revenue growth rate of 11.1 percent. (July 10, 2006)
  
• Garda World Security Corporation, a major supplier of physical security, cash-handling, investigative, and pre-employment screening services in North America, has acquired Toronto-based Intertec Security Corp for CAN$4.9 million. Intertec has annual revenues of CAN$16.1 million, implying a revenue multiple of 0.3x . Intertec’s services include providing security officers, mobile patrols, executive protection, and parking control. (July 1, 2006)

For a copy of the full report contact Cherie Smith Homa at 410-949-8692 (csmith@kpmg.com) or Jason Cross at 410-949-8683 (jecross@kpmg.com).

902 East 5th Street Suite 101 Austin Texas, 78701 (v) 888.690.9297 (f) 512.485.3111 sales@deverus.com

What if you could give HR exactly what they really want? What if you had the cutting edge solutions to the most pressing issues, the best technology and expert team to make it happen? deverus is the leader in technology solutions for the background check industry. From the most powerful industry software applications and data exchange solutions to process consulting and tools that connect disparate background data sources, we enable background check companies to deliver more of what HR wants, quickly and profitably. Call us today to find out how we can help 888.690.9297

State: Felons must provide DNA

Thousands of convicted Indiana felons are being required to give DNA samples at county probation offices. Felons in Marion County must begin providing the samples. Felons in counties surrounding Indianapolis must begin the process in August, with the rest of the counties phased in after that. By matching the DNA from old crime scenes with that from the felons tested, "we're going to get hits, we're going to get investigative leads, we're going to get suspects," said Mark Renner of Strand Analytical Laboratories, which will extract the samples.

All 50 states have criminal DNA databases. Some test only those convicted of murder or other violent offenses. Some states collect samples from juveniles convicted of crimes that would be felonies if committed by an adult. Several states, including Virginia, permit DNA tests on people upon their arrests.The information also will be put in a national database, which contains the genetic "fingerprints" of more than 3 million Americans.

For more information go to: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060730/NEWS01/607300406

Laptop Loss Rampant

Vontu, a data loss prevention provider sponsored the "U.S. Survey: Confidential Data at Risk" of 500 information security professionals. The survey was conducted by the Ponemon Institute. Key findings included reporting that more than 80% of U.S. firms who responded said they had lost one or more laptops containing sensitive information during the last year. Additionally, nearly 65 percent of companies reported never conducting an inventory of sensitive consumer information or employee data. A surprise was that most companies said they would "never" be able to determine what data was actually on a lost or stolen laptop, desktop, fire server or mobile device.

For more information go to: http://www.vontu.com/uploadedFiles/global/Ponemon-Vontu

Background Screening The Way You Want It Easy to use Feature-rich Affordable and Flexible Robust and Reliable· Backed by Personal service Motor Vehicle Records, Criminal Records, Credit Reports, Tenant Screening, Social Searches, and more! Whether you’re just getting started in screening, or looking for a new provider, give us a call. You’ll be glad you did. Innovative Software Solutions (800) 928-4774 www.issnetwork.com

Outbound Email and Content Security in Today’s Enterprise, 2006 Survey by ProofPoint, Inc

Outgoing emails contain content that poses a legal, financial or regulatory risk 23%   Ordered by court or regulatory body to produce employee email 25%   Business impacted by the exposure of sensitive or embarrassing information 35%

To download the complimentary report go to: http://www.proofpoint.com/id/outbound/index.php

The Insider Threat Benchmark Report: Strategies for Data Protection

This research report discusses key findings from 88 companies surveyed to determine the degree by which best-in-class organizations are utilizing a security solution to address the risk of the insider threat, also referred to as “data leakage” or “data loss prevention.” http://www.apani.com/cso-insider

Take Your Firm to the Next Level

So you have done a great good job at bringing in new clients to your firm that you’re swamped with business, your firm is growing, and all parts of your marketing system are in place and running smoothly? Even if this is true for your firm, what happens next in many successful firms, however, is not good news. Instead of sticking with what’s created success in the first place, the focus shifts away from a marketing mindset. Instead of being an essential lens through which people in your firm view their role, marketing as an every-day focus fades from importance. After all, why continue to invest the time and resources on marketing when you’ve got more business than you can handle now anyway? And shouldn’t you spend time on what’s now important, like internal operations, serving current clients, and other more urgent priorities? The answer is an emphatic NO! Not only will you erode all the hard work you’ve invested to get to where you are, but it will be much harder (and expensive!) to turn your now larger and more complex ship around, once you lose that marketing mindset.

To Read the Full Article go to: http://www.turningpointemarketing.com/Free_Resources

Alternatives to Webzines

Those of you that already have webzines or those that have started one and not continued, know first hand that while it sounds great to publish a webzine it takes a lot of time to do it on an on-going basis particularly keeping up with constantly finding content. Fortunately, there is more than one way to skin a cat (it is just an old saying, animal rights activist please don’t start a campaign against me.) Here are two alternative approaches to helping you achieve your goal of establishing credibility, staying in touch with your prospects, and capturing your Web site visitors.

Click Here to Read the Full Article

Find resumes of people with industry experience and industry employers seeking industry experience.

BackgroundScreeningJobs.com - your one stop source to quickly and easily find people in the background screening industry. Go to backgroundscreeningjobs.com today!

One of the true test of any association or organization is the added value it gives to its members. In today’s fast pace environment busy professionals have to make choices about how to spend their time and which organizations they want to be associated with. The following is one person’s experience that clearly demonstrates the value that NAPBS has contributed to her.

Contributed by Lisa Olvera:
I have been with Corporate Intelligence Consultants for almost 5 years now and can see how I have grown. My first NAPBS conference was great. The information was useful and helpful with issues I was dealing with regarding courthouses, runners, different states, their laws and now my concentration in the marketing area. The part of NAPBS that I am most proud of is the community or team we are all a part of. The interaction of members is impressive. Instead of looking at the person sitting next to you at lunch at the conference as a competitor, they have become a confidant! To illustrate my point, Barry Nadell was invaluable in helping me with problems I was having. We see Barry speak at the conference or other conferences, but he shared information with me, one on one. His counsel was priceless. The entire association is accessible, Tracy Seabrook our director has played a vital role in our committee, she works, and she works hard! I constantly tell other associations I belong to about NAPBS and how proud I am of the work everybody does to keep it running. This association takes hard work from all its members, but especially the committees. I look forward to becoming more involved in the near future.

Lisa A. Olvera, Corporate Intelligence Consultants, 419-467-2482, lolvera@corpintel.com

Go To www.NAPBS.com to Join Today

“Got International Information?”
We have greatly enhanced our International Resource Center to be a valuable resource for anyone looking for information on doing international background verifications, vetting or verifications. It includes information on EU countries data protection and other laws, Canada, terrorist searches and much more. Also included is very practical information on time zones, locating cities, etc. Check it out and I am sure you will want to Bookmark it so you can use it over and over. To view the International Section go to www.PreemploymentDirectory.com and look under the line in the middle of the page:

With the advent of ‘Continuous Employee Screening’ tools becoming available we believe this will be an invaluable tool to assist firms in knowing who is on their payroll and addressing the issue of negligent retention. This tool will help firms to be able to identify whether mandatory licenses or professional certifications are current as well as derogatory issues such as DUI’s, criminal warrants, convictions, etc. that could have an impact on an employee continuing to qualify for their position or a proposed one.

Implementing a continuous screening program will require careful consideration by organizations because of a number of potential employee relations, organizational and legal issues that need to be addressed. To begin with it will be critical that firm’s have a comprehensive background screening policy in place that addresses how problem situations will be handled. In addition, the need to have pre-identified ‘sensitive jobs’ with clear qualifications and prerequisites included in job descriptions will become even more important than ever. Each company will need to develop a decision tree regarding how potential issues will impact employees. Because of these issues the National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence, Inc. has established a new consulting practice specifically focused on addressing these issues and helping firms to implement continuous screening.

Since overwhelming employers use outsourced background screening firms to conduct their background checks, we have decided to primarily offer this consulting service through background screening firms. This will be a value added service that you can offer to your clients when you are selling them your ‘continuous screening’ tool. We have developed a proprietary implementation process for assisting firms with continuous screening that you can offer to your clients. Contact Barry Nixon at 949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@aol.com for more information.

Call Barry Nixon at (949) 770-5264 today to find how the Continuous Employee Post Hire Screening consulting can contribute to increased sales, revenue and increased customer satisfaction

Implications of the 2006 SHRM Forecast on Background Screening Industry

In reviewing the SHRM 2006 Forecast and its likely impact on the business of background screening one of the most pervasive trends that cuts across much of the results that are projected to have major impact on Human Resources is the rapid growth of outsourcing, particularly its popular twin offshoring. Some of the noteworthy trends mentioned include increased concerns about security, privacy, offshoring in Asia (top six destinations), global expansion and economic growth in Asia. Overall, my assessment of the forecast is that many of the projections are likely to expand opportunities for background screening worldwide, but particularly in Asia.

Click Here for More Information

Zero to $1 billion

A new study shows that companies that spurt from saplings to giants tend to share the same seven traits. How does your business stack up? The Seven essentials:

• Create an sustain a breakthrough value proposition
• Exploit a high growth market
• Focus relentlessly on cash flow
• Leverage big brother alliances
• Pack your board with industry experts
• Use blue-chip customers to gain credibility
• Bu8ld an inside-outside leadership teamHow does your business stack up?

To Learn more go to: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2006/05/01/8376202/index.htm

BRUCE BERG INTERVIEW:

As many of you know, Bruce has been providing expert consulting in the industry for many years. Earlier this year he embarked on a new exciting venture and started BackgroundScreeningJobs.com, an online job board specifically for the background screening industry. I had the opportunity to talk with him about his new service and he shared many of his thoughts on the job board. 1. What led you to start the BackgroundScreeningJobs.com?

As the premier consultant in the background screening industry, I would regularly get calls both from people looking to change employers and from employers looking for candidates with industry experience. I would try to hook these two up when there was a match. I was happy to help both parties. In addition, I was asked several times to do recruiting, but I felt that to effectively accomplish this, I would have to "steal" good people from companies that were, or had the potential to be, clients. I felt this was not ethical. I found myself spending several hours a week "helping," but this was getting in the way of "earning." Thus, why not put it up on a Job Board for this exchange of information to take place more efficiently and effectively. Click Here For More Information

2006 Background Buzz MEDIA RATES:

Click here for more information about advertising in The Background Buzz and PreemploymentDirectory.com (Sections: US Provider, International, Vendor Showcase.)

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:

Terry Corley from Global Screening Solutions, Inc., a Platinum member, will be speaking at the HR-XML European HR/Staffing Conference in Barcelona, Spain Oct 25 where he will be speaking on the topic of “Credential Verification Goes Global” He will speak on the Increasing labor mobility in Europe and through out the world has brought additional attention to the issue of credential fraud. Identifying "inflation" of achievements and experience claimed on CVs and resumes as well as fraudulent licenses and certifications is difficult within a single country. How might enterprises reasonably manage this challenge globally? Moreover, the level and variety of data privacy and consumer reporting and investigation laws vary considerably from country to country. This session will examine how enterprises might protect themselves against employee and candidate fraud without running afoul of an increasingly complex web of data privacy protections in Europe, North America, and beyond.

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) - For Details on State Conferences, go to http://www.shrm.org/conferences/state/CMS_004287.asp

World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA) For Details on International events by date go to http://www.wfpma.com/dates.html

Business Forums International's HR RISK SUMMIT 2006, September 5, 2006, London W6, http://www.bfi.co.uk

Global Security China 2006, Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Centre, Shenzhen, China, 5 - 7 September 2006, http://www.globalsecchina.com/docs/GSC-brochure.pdf

ASIS International’s 52nd Annual Seminars and Exhibits, San Diego, CA, September 25-28, www.Asisonline.org

Ninth Annual HR Technology Conference, October 4-6, Chicago. Go to for special invitation and to register - http://www.hrtechnologyconference.com

Business Forums International's European Employee Vetting Conference, October 12, 2006, London, England, http://www.bfi.co.uk

ISC East, October 24-25, 200 New York, NY, http://www.isceast.com

HR-XML Summit, Oct. 25-26, Barcelona, Spain, http://www.hr-xml.org/meetings/barcelona/

Securing New Ground, New York City, November 15-16, http://www.securingnewground.com

How to Spot a LIAR

The US government has reputedly spent millions researching new lie detector technologies including exploring exotic areas such as magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalogram, periorbital thermography (eye scans) and microexpressions.

See ‘How to Spot a LIAR,’ Time. Augusts 28, 2006, page 46.

Personality Testing Controversial, But Poised to Take Off

Advocates of personality testing say such assessments offer useful and legitimate insights into how well people might fit into an organization including assessing honesty and integrity. Because of expensive turnover, it is likely these assessments tools will continue to gain in popularity despite critics concerns about false positives.

See ‘Personality Testing Controversial, But Poised to Take Off,’ Workforce Management, August 15, 2006