In some cases, the false information on a background check won’t be from an employer but, instead, will be financial. In this case, when a background check company brings up false information in a background investigation, the false financial information – including outstanding debts on a credit report and a low credit score, both of which you didn’t think you had – is probably a result of identity theft. An article on website Ask the Advisor lists ways for proving identity theft, and here are some of his suggestions for dealing with any type of identity theft.
Identity theft can result from someone stealing your credit card information to, more seriously, stealing your social security number and, in both cases, raking up large amounts of debt and opening accounts and loans in your name. First, if you’re receiving calls about a debt you have no knowledge of, document all communications, including both written and oral. Also, if your credit card was stolen recently, where was it stolen and did you report the card as stolen? In addition, limit disclosure of personal information with any collection companies – they might be fraudulent themselves – and change online passwords. As your credit could even be affected by a stolen credit card, sending fraud alerts to credit reports and obtaining a copy of your credit report are recommended.
One document you’ll want to fill out is an ID theft report. This FTC ID theft report comes with a Fraudulent Account Statement, and these two documents need to be filled out and mailed to any place in which you have unauthorized credit. If you’ve had stolen checks or unauthorized bank accounts, these, too, need to be reported. If a current account in your name has been tampered with, these should be closed but untouched accounts, however, shouldn’t be closed but the banks should be notified.
If you think your social security number has been stolen, the next step would be to contact the Social Security Administration. In addition, you should file reports about a stolen social security number with the FTC and your local police station, especially if it looks like most of the fraudulent activity has been done locally. In addition, if you still need additional help in recovering your background from identity theft, seeking legal advice would be the next step.