Background screening is very important when hiring an employee or renting out an apartment. An employee who gives out wrong information to ace the interview may indeed be instrumental in ruining an organization’s reputation in the long run. On the other hand, a tenant who falsifies his marital status to a landlord only to get close to his daughter is definitely bad news. This is where background screening comes in handy. A thorough background screening can indeed dig up important bits of information about a person that he/she might never disclose voluntarily. After all, as they say, every man has something to hide. These are the things that should be checked about a person to be safe:

1. Social Security Number or SSN: This is an invaluable resource for doing a background check. An SSN check can reveal a person’s true name, any aliases he might have used, where he was born, which states he has resided in, and the date of issue of the SSN. This can particularly come in handy in detecting whether a person is trying to hide his background. For instance, a man may claim that he was born in Minnesota, but if his SSN number is from Wisconsin, he might be lying. In this case, an employer or landlord would have some serious questions to ask the person.

2. Criminal record: This is the second most important thing to check. A person with speeding tickets may not necessarily be a seasoned criminal, but a person with multiple sexual offences or assault cases might not be a safe choice to hire for a job or rent an apartment to.

3. Financial background: A person’s financial record speaks volumes about his credibility as an employee or a tenant. An employee with history of bad debts and debt evasion may resort to embezzlement to cover up his expenses. On the other hand, a person with history of bankruptcy may not be able to pay up his rent on time. So, he might not be a good candidate for renting an apartment to.

These checks can help in making sure that a person has given out proper information about his background. Hiring a professional investigator or agency to do the background is the safest option, albeit expensive. But, a little expense here can ensure peace of mind later on. It is thus certainly a good idea to get the background of prospective tenants or employees checked by professional agencies.