There are many reasons as to why someone may want to complete a background check. Unfortunately, the vast majority of checks that are out there that are free, are also of very poor quality. While websites will generally claim to be the best of the best, the reality is that they are not, unless you agree to pay.
How Do Free Websites Work?
Very simply put, when you do a free background check, the information you will find – if any – will be very limited. The website will then ask you to pay a small fee in order to view more information. Essentially, all the free sites will do is confirm whether or not a person is known to them, but you will have to pay for more information.
The reality is also, however, that there is nothing wrong with paying that fee. If you consider how much time and effort you would have to put into finding all the information they provide, it would be worth making a payment and getting it done for you, quickly and accurately. The reality is also that the checks you can do yourself for free are unlikely to be complete or even accurate. For instance:
- Enter your own name into Google or any other search engine and see how much information you find about yourself. Do you feel it is representative of who you are and would give someone researching you all the information they would need?
- Find your name on social media. Try places like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, for instance. Again, the same question – is that information enough to really make a judgment on someone?
As you can see, there is a reason why you may want to use a paid service instead. The information you will be provided with is completely accurate and will actually include the things you are looking for, such as a checkered past. You hope that you don’t find anything negative, but you want to have that confirmed.
Why Complete a Background Check?
There are numerous very good and valid reasons to perform a background check on someone. Most of them, as you will see, are because there would be a significant concern that they would present a risk to others if they have had a criminal background. For instance:
- Employers want to check the background of new staff members before they can work with vulnerable people. Employers will also complete a background check whenever the business involved deals with sensitive data or products. Money, for example, isn’t something you want someone who robbed several banks in the past to be working around. Furthermore, there are businesses that are required by law to do a background check of their personnel before bringing them on board. For instance, banks, the police force, military, or hospitals.
- Schools need to check the background of individuals who come into their building to protect children. Some higher learning institutions also, won’t admit students with a criminal past record. Therefore, they always do a thorough background check before enrolling students. For example, schools of medicine. Be that as it may, that doesn’t mean that anyone with a criminal past record won’t be able to do medicine. If one can explain the reason behind the record, there are exceptions.
- Families complete background checks on individuals who will be looking after their elderly relatives or their children. This is vital because relatives are not people you just leave with anyone. Better safe than sorry.
- Individuals want to complete a background check on new people they meet and who they are considering for a romantic relationship. It wasn’t that easy a few decades back, but today it’s only a few clicks away. Nonetheless, in as much as it’s good to know who you are dealing with, most people will not find it very amusing when they find that you have done a background check on them. Hence, weigh your situation before you decide to perform a background check on someone you are interested in romantically. But when you feel threatened or unsure about someone, better safe than sorry. Besides, people who have nothing to hide, hide nothing. So when someone finds out that a background check has been done on them and they react negatively, perhaps it’s best you steer clear of them.
- Individuals who have been adopted may want to know who their biological parents are.
These are all serious and significant issues and you cannot rely on Google and social media to find the answers you need. Instead, you should consider paying a small fee for a service that looks these things up for you.
