Protect Your Small Business Against Crime

Background Checks: How They Can Help Better Protect Your Small Business Against Crime

If you run a small business, you've got a lot of worries. Besides all the normal concerns like competition and pricing and location and customer service... now security has become increasingly important. You face the threat of theft, fraud, embezzlement, scams... the list seems almost endless.

When you're in business, you can run up against...

- Suppliers who provide shoddy goods that you don't discover until after you've paid for them
- Customers whose orders you promptly fill but who wiggle out of paying
- Employees who rob you of everything from supplies and equipment to cash and services.

The Federation of Small Business - a British business group reported that over half (58%) of all small businesses in the UK suffered at least one crime during a recent two year period. They concluded:

"Crime, and the fear of crime, can directly impact on day to day business activities. It can damage a business image, resulting in the loss of existing customers and deterioration in the quality and range of services offered by the business, which will limit turnover (profits) and
restrict business development."

When you run a small business, it's up to you to look out for your company. But how?

Background Search Services on the Web Provide an Economical Answer

Many of the problems that small businesses face in trying to deter crime can be helped with information available on the Internet. You can use 21st Century technology to get the better of the crooks and thieves and scam artists.

But if you're not familiar with whats available, you may not realize all the important things you can find out with a good background checking service.

It used to be expensive to check into someone's background to see if they were hiding anything. You had to hire a private detective or pay big bucks to an investigative agency. Not today - not with Internet databases so readily available to us. Some of the services are free. However, a business will benefit most from the more in-depth background checking services.

These higher quality services usually charge a fee to subscribe, but it's smaller than you'd expect - especially considering the volumes and usefulness of the information they provide. A year of service is often less than what you'd pay to bring in lunch for a staff meeting. Plus, the paid services are kept more up-to-date and are typically faster and easier to use.

Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective sites, or Personal Search sites, the website based services give you the low-down on all kinds of formerly-hidden information.

Here are the types of things you can and should be looking into for the protection of your business...

Criminal Background Checks

Any time your business is dealing with someone you don't know, you should run a quick check to see if they have any history of criminal activity. It's very simple to find out about:

- Criminal Records
- FBI Records
- Prison Records
- Sex Offender Status

You have access to their entire criminal history if there is one. With violence in the workplace such a major issue, a simple criminal check can be a very effective way to avoid problems before they happen.

Background Check for Employment (Pre-Employment Screening)

If you've got a small business, you should be pre-screening each person you consider hiring. No matter how professional, or how harmless, they appear.

A small print shop franchise in Florida hired an especially friendly fellow as their bookkeeper after the owner got too busy to handle it himself. The new employee didn't offer much in the way of references but he sounded like he knew what he was doing and - big plus - he agreed to work cheap. The owner figured he would save money hiring the guy. He figured wrong.

The bookkeeper drained more than a hundred thousand dollars out of the company before they found him out. Turned out he'd previously been charged with embezzlement. Something a criminal background check would have quickly turned up.

Background Check Existing Employees - Make it a Condition of Employment

You shouldn't check only new hires. Over time, employees can develop habits and get involved in activities you'd never suspect. So you should regularly check on existing employees. Note: this is something you should get legal advice for - but generally if it's a condition of employment and you let them know in writing, it's not invading privacy. You entrust employees with company funds or materials that can be stolen, or negotiating and purchasing power that can be abused. Keeping an eye on existing employees is just being prudent.

Too many small business owners think of their company as an extension of their family. They don't want to think ill of the people they give jobs to. Truth is, most employees are trustworthy. They just want to do a good job and get paid fairly - but they see you as the boss, not their daddy. Even in real families, the black sheep will have absolutely no conscience about turning your good will to their good fortune. Don't be so kindly that you end up getting taken for everything you own.

Background Check Each Company or Individual You Do Business With

You should investigate every supplier or contractor who serves your business. If the possibility of harm exists, then you need to know if someone you're in business with is likely to harm you. You can check credit, check backgrounds of the owners and managers, check the company itself for any past criminal or questionable activity.

Also check customers if your dealings with them permit. Most non-retail businesses will have the opportunity to look at their customer's backgrounds for any warning signs. Don't get left without payment for your products or services when a quick look up on the computer can resolve questions.

Check both suppliers and customers out. It's just good business.

Real Estate Business Transactions Are Often Easy Targets for Crime

Real Estate often involves significant investment, both initially and over time. Whether you're a landlord or a tenant, you need to check out those with whom you're doing business. Using a background check service, you can:

- Check Credit and determine if Social Security Numbers provided are valid
- Check Tenants for past problems or criminal activity
- Check Landlords for tenant actions against them or other legal problems

Charity and Other Community Support

Businesses frequently get called on to support their community. Charitable organizations often solicit donations, many times in sizable amounts. Before you give money freely to anyone, be sure they're legitimate by running a background check on their organization and the principals involved. Otherwise the help you think you're providing could turn around and hurt your business.

Final Word

Running a small business is more of a challenge today than ever before. Use online database search services to help you protect your business and keep you, your customers and your employees more secure.

Purchasing Items Online from an Individual

The internet has made shopping easier than ever before. You don't have to visit a store or shop to try and find the things you want, and if you can't find an item in your hometown, you will probably be able to find it on the internet. It is a great convenience, especially to those who are strapped for time, however there are risks associated with it as well. When you purchase something from an individual online, you are not looking at them face to face. This veil of anonymity encourages criminals to try and scam innocent people. For those of you who shop online, it's important to check certain things before you give your hard earned money to just anyone. Scammers are waiting to snap it up and it could end up in a heartbreaking situation.

There are some tips you can use in order to keep your money safe from scammers. If you have the name of the person, simply use Google to search their name along with the word scam. If anyone has complained that this person has scammed them, it should pop up in the results page. Another thing you can do is visit a website which allows you to search the background of individuals. One example of a website like that is www.reversegenie.com and you can easily type in the person's name into the textbox. You will then be given access to important records such as if that person has ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony. You will also be told where that person lives, what their phone number is, if they are married and whether or not they have criminal arrest warrants out for them. This is valuable information to those who wish to ensure that their money is going to someone who is not going to scam them.

There are countless cases of internet scam and it takes just one slip to give up what you have worked hard for. Another thing you can do to check out the individual and ask him or her for references. If they don't give you any references, don't buy what they are selling. Most people who are selling something online will have some type of reference. If you do get references, call every single one of them and ask what kind of service they received from this person and whether he was timely and professional. You may find out that he or she is the best, most wonderful salesperson there is on the internet. However, you may also find out some nasty little secrets that this person has been hiding. Regardless, it's important that you always check. Should you ever notice strange charges on your credit card, you need to contest the charge immediately and cancel your card so that no more money will be charged on it. Using the insightful tips and tricks above will help you empower yourself so that you can avoid being scammed and purchase the product that you really love from someone who is a great and honest person.

Beware Online Predators

There is something very frightening going on that most parents don't know about. While most people do realize that there are internet predators, they really don't understand how many and what kind of organized groups they hang out in. The fact is that there are pedophiles and sex offenders all over the internet. Many of these sex offenders and pedophiles are very proud of their actions and thoughts; in fact, there are groups of these offenders trying to change laws in order to be able to indulge their sexual desires. Most of them are convicted criminals and travel in circles of other convicted criminals – doing what? They are looking for vulnerable children online. This is a terrifying thought, isn't it? As parents, you need to be very proactive to keep your children safe. Here are some important tips to keep your kids safe online. 

• Do not allow your children to post pictures of themselves online. Do not post pictures of your children on any social networking sites. Predators have been known to take pictures from online albums and post them on pedophile websites. 

• Pay very close attention to the people that your children communicate with online. Many pedophiles and sex offenders try and lure children into conversation. According to many experts, pedophiles will speak to a child or adolescent for weeks or months before trying to set up a meeting with them. 

• Should you find a suspicious person is e-mailing, chatting or instant messaging your teenager or child, you should find out who it is. There are some very easy ways to do this. The first thing you should do is visit one of the websites that allow you to perform an instant background check on someone – even with just their e-mail address. One of these websites is www.reverserecords.org. 

With this website, you can enter an e-mail address and find out if that person has ever been convicted of any sort of crime. You will also find out their name, address and phone number along with local and nationwide arrest and conviction information. This will tell you if you should be worried about this person that your child is speaking to. Obviously, if it is an adult, you should be nervous. There is no reason for an adult to chat, message or e-mail a child that they have met online. 

Should you find that the person you are searching has been convicted of a crime, especially a sex offender crime; you should report them to your local police as well as your FBI immediately. A large percentage of sex offenders will commit another crime, talk to another child, view pictures of children online and many more horrifying things. Reporting these people to the proper law authorities is imperative. They are violating the law if they are talking to your child. Check them out. Find out who they really are with the method explained above. Make sure your child is safe. Unfortunately, a parent cannot be too careful if they want to keep their children safe from harm.

Beware Online Charities

Many people have large, generous and giving hearts. Many people donate money to online charities to help the needy, those with illnesses, animal activists and more. If you're one of these people, good for you! It is an amazing thing to give what you can to someone who is in need or to research illnesses in the hopes of finding a cure. It is also a wonderful thing to help those who protect animals and their rights as well. If you do give to charities, you should know one thing. Not all of the charities online are real. In fact, there are criminals and con-artists who take advantage of people's generosity and kindness. They post fake charities, get you involved so that you want to 'make a difference,' and they line their pockets and wallets with the checks you send. So, while you think you're helping someone who is in need, you may be only helping someone who is full of greed. Here are some really good tips for avoiding 'charities' like this. 

• Do your research on a charity. We are so full of empathy for people sometimes that we get emotional about a sad story or a problem and we get our checkbooks out and go to writing before we think. Unfortunately, while this is a wonderful quality to have, we must be careful. Find out what you can about a charity before you send them anything. 

• See if you can contact someone who has been helped by the charity before. Many charities tell you personal stories of people that they have been able to help through donations. If you can contact this person, find out what they were helped with and any other information that will help you realize if the charity in question is legitimate or real. 

• Check to see what address they are giving you to send the money to. If you can get the address, you can find out the owner of the address. Here's how – 

If you want to find out if the owner of the charity is a criminal, all you need is the address. Visit one of the websites that allow you to look up someone's background through their address! One of them is www.ReverseGenie.com. Through this website, you can enter the address of the charity. After submitting that information, you will have access to the name and phone number of the person associated with the address. You will also receive marriage and death certificates, civil and criminal court records, national and local court records and more. So, if this charity is a criminal who is trying to fund his next dirty deed, you will know about it. This is a great way to make sure that your hard earned money is really going to help people get better, get the things they need or whatever. Make sure that it's not going into the pockets of a criminal and a scammer.