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Question about Background Check

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brich7705

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? WA

I have a question here. I've been having trouble finding employment recently and figured it was either an ex-employer giving a bad reference or I was putting inaccurate information on my application. I have a bad memory on dates so it's entirely possible that I did so. I do have a criminal history, nothing major but I do know I need to disclose it. So I thought it would be prudent to pull my criminal history file from Washington State Patrol. \
Well when I did a search I found to my suprise that two records pulled up... both with my SSN. One is mine with just a couple minor things from like 6 years ago. The other was quite horrible with a manslaughter and several assualt charges on it.

Now my question is this... can this second history be used against me. It has a different name is for a female, but it does pull up with my SSN. Do employers see both of these or do they search using even more refined criteria. This has gotten me sort of paranoid. Also is there any recorse that I can use to get my ssn removed from this record?

Thank you,
Any help appreciated.
 


It is quite probable that your employer IS seeing this other record if they do a criminal background check...and it looks BAD for you based on several things: (1) Although it appears you "disclose" the minor offenses (which is right and is exactly what you should do), it will still look like you're lying because you are so "nice" to mention anything, and then WOWZA! - you come back as a violent felon! :eek: (2) Depending on the type of check they do, the name and gender of the offender may not appear, so they just think it's you; (3) Even if they notice that it is a different name/gender, the questions will be planted in their heads about what the mistake REALLY is - Are you the "victim" or is the other person?, Is there really a mistake at all or is he really a violent felon?, etc.

You need to go to your lawyer PRONTO! - like yesterday - and get this cleared up. You can also try the clerk of court's office and maybe even the prosecutor's office in your county. Either way, this is NOT something to ignore...it is going to continue to haunt you until you get it cleared up!

Might I also suggest you check your credit report, too? If this wasn't just a typo and this person is really using your SSN, there's no telling what they're doing! They could be running up bills in your name! You might want to check with social security and the IRS, too, to verify that they have only YOU and not someone else listed under your number.

Identity theft is very ugly...and unfortunately, can be very difficult to straighten out. Get on this sooner rather than later. ID theft is like cancer....the earlier you detect it, the easier it is to combat and "cure"!
 

brich7705

Junior Member
Thank you for your reply.

I have run my credit reports as well and I find no suspicious activity on that.

Now I have a few questions as to how to procede. What sort of lawyer would best know how to handle this? I did a search in my local area for identity theft lawyers and couldn't find one... maybe that's just too specific of a search. Second, what do I do about trying to get a job in the mean time? I'm currently unemployed and as such I'm actively looking for employment and i can't just stop doing so as this works out. Should I tell the HR reps that if they pull my criminal history it'll pull two sheets? I know for a fact that one company did pull my history using just SSN and DOB. I called them and asked if that's the reason that they didn't employ me and they stated that they couldn't give a reason... not that I really thought they would was just fishing there.

Again thank you for your repsonce and any future help is greatly appreciated.
 
I am not sure what kind of attorney handles things like this (I am not an attorney), but I suspect you could call your local bar assn. for direction on that.

As for mentioning this to the Human Resources people, I certainly think you ought to do that. Mention to them that you are trying to work on this issue, but you just recently realized, because of your current job search, that erroneous information is occuring during criminal background checks. Certianly you need to continue to be honest about the portion of the check that is valid, but let them know that additonal information comes up under your SSN for someone who is not you...and isn't even of the same gender! I am an HR professional, and having THAT informaiton would make me look further to ensure that the "bad" stuff isn't you.

Good luck!
 

patricia1

Junior Member
I am not an attorney but you may want to try an employer that does not have a policy against hiring people with a criminal history. Even without a back ground check this is a reason not to hire someone if that is there policy. For example I had a very good friend that got a DUI & the employer of 8 years of employment fired him because he voilated there code of ethics. Why even put yourself through that. FYI my friend move out of state & is working just fine now.
 

brich7705

Junior Member
That's what i was fearing most here. That it would prejudice me against employment even though I wasn't the felonious one. Sure I have a few minor misdemeanors and if they choose not to employ me based on those, i have no problem with it. I'm not contesting that... those will follow me around. What I fear is that they'll see two records and one of two things... think that I've lied about my SSN and that i'm using a fake one or that they won't take the time to check it out and see that it's two people.

As for moving to another state, while that certainly is a possiblity I do think that's quite a drastic move on my part.

I wonder if there's any recourse I can take against this person, like civil litigation for the emotional strain this causes. Anyone know of anything about that? Sueing someone for getting arrested and giving up my SSN?
 

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