Old Data

• Information recorded in your criminal or credit history can get entered incorrectly. For example, you might have an outstanding bill listed on your credit report that you paid off five years ago, but it still shows up on your credit report as past due. Contact the three major credit bureaus (i.e., Experian, TransUnion and Equifax), and request that they remove the erroneous entry from your credit report. You should also review your credit reports regularly so that you are aware of items that are posted on your reports maintained by the three bureaus. You can also order your criminal background report to check and ensure that items listed on that report are also accurate.
  
  

Identity Theft

• Unfortunately, identify theft is not as uncommon as one might think. When someone steals your identity or your credit cards and other items, like your Social Security and bank account numbers, the thief can make purchases against your accounts, never pay for the purchases and then cause your background investigations to appear as if you are untrustworthy when it comes to handling money. If someone commits identify theft and conducts criminal acts using your identification, these items could also show up on your background investigation.
  
  

Typos

• People who enter data into billing and criminal background check systems are human. They can make errors and enter the wrong information into your account. For example, a court clerk can enter a crime that someone else committed into your record by accident. Additionally, crimes and dates that you committed crimes can get entered into criminal systems erroneously. If you received a speeding ticket, the violation could get entered into the system as a felony.
  
  

Electronic Database Systems

• Records reflected in electronic databases are generally sold to vendors that conduct third-party background checks for clients by private companies. Not all the information in the records is checked or accurate. Furthermore, background investigations that pull data out of electronic computer systems can show errors if the computer system the data is generated from has a technical glitch in it. Old criminal records that should get expunged and not shown to people like hiring managers, landlords and bank loan officers can also still exist in background databases. However, if people like employers, loan officers and landlords meet with you to discuss the results of your background investigation, you can ask to review the results and respond to errors that you see on the reports.