bogus charges

[wtlvhhte]

What is the name of your state?Alabama
I used a online service to check my criminal history. I got a big surprise. There were 3 records from Florida. Two have been dismissed. (Okay, why are they still there?) One looks to be current. Probation violation. From 1993. I've never been arrested in Florida. I never lived there, let alone been on probation there. The same report shows arrest in Sacramento Superior Court. I've never lived there either. Could this be ID theft? How can I check? What do I need to do to clear this up? This all started with a gun purchase. I don't check my criminal history. I thought only law enforcement was supposed to have this information. I've never been to prison or commited a felony. How could this be? I don't even know what county this was alleged to have happened in. I hope you can give some explanation.

 

[TheGeekess]

Online services are not reliable. I would tend to think the mistakes were because of similar/same names and not identity theft.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?Alabama
I used a online service to check my criminal history. I got a big surprise. There were 3 records from Florida. Two have been dismissed. (Okay, why are they still there?) One looks to be current. Probation violation. From 1993. I've never been arrested in Florida. I never lived there, let alone been on probation there. The same report shows arrest in Sacramento Superior Court. I've never lived there either. Could this be ID theft? How can I check? What do I need to do to clear this up? This all started with a gun purchase. I don't check my criminal history. I thought only law enforcement was supposed to have this information. I've never been to prison or commited a felony. How could this be? I don't even know what county this was alleged to have happened in. I hope you can give some explanation.

Errors on background check reports are not uncommon, which is why it can be smart to run your own background check on yourself to see what shows up.

The background check companies are required by law to correct and/or remove erroneous information. But you must gather together evidence of error first.

I suggest you contact the background check company first and get a complete report and read the "disclaimer." Many companies will note that the results are not guaranteed to be accurate. Some companies use name-based checks of records and, if you share a name with a criminal, you might find the criminal's history appears on your report.

You should go over each entry. It is sometimes necessary to contact the reporting agency (law enforcement agency, court) to locate the source of the error (for example, it could be a database entry error).

It is not easy to correct erroneous reports. Here is a link to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with information on background checks: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0157-background-checks

 

[bcr229]

This all started with a gun purchase.

If you purchased a firearm from a dealer and were denied by NICS, the dealer should have given you this info to file the appeal:

https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics/national-instant-criminal-background-check-system-nics-appeals-vaf