For a lot of us, our pets truly are part of our family. And the explosion of growth in companies catering to these furry family members indicates the serious investment we are willing to make to ensure their health, happiness, and well-being.
Online apps like Rover or Wag fill a much-needed niche in the pet care industry. Namely, a resource for safe and compassionate care for busy pet parents. Much like Care.com, an online site providing access to child and elder-care for human members of the family, these apps give people the option to book sitters or dog walkers online.
Both Rover and Wag make claims to provide rigorous screening and background checks. Some caregivers were even awarded special badges certifying their experience with specialized pet care services. Due to the very nature of the services provided, many customers assumed the caregivers had to have been vetted and cleared by the site.
But you know what they say about assumptions, right?
An investigation by CBS News and other outlets found that caregivers with red flags on their records were not always excluded from being listed on these sites. And pets have been killed or seriously injured in the care of a service provider found on an app.
Obviously, people willing to invest money in making sure their pets receive professional care are concerned about their safety and happiness. And professionals who make a living caring for other people’s pets have no reason to want to see one get injured.
So, it’s important to remember that the news reports didn’t say the apps did no background checks on the providers. Just an insufficient one.
Limitations of instant online background checks
The internet provides unprecedented access to public records on private citizens. It has also created a market for companies to offer cheap and instant background checks from database records.
Since there is no one, consolidated database with records on all American citizens, a person would have to search through quite a few files from numerous databases and multiple sources to put together a complete profile.
A task that is far too slow and tedious for a human – but perfect for a robot.
Online database background services provide a computer algorithm that can comb through a multitude of files from many different databases within a given parameter much faster and more accurately than a person ever could.
However, it still takes time and resources to conduct the search. It’s neither practical or cost-effective to try to hit every online data source in every jurisdiction, city, state, and agency in the country.
Which is why the first thing you are asked for when ordering an online search is the person’s background information. When and where they were born, lived, went to school and worked. That information tells the algorithm when and where to search for records.
Which is fine, as long as the person discloses their full and accurate story. But imagine doing a database search on someone born and raised in New Jersey, who has a work history in New York – but happened to have gotten into trouble while visiting relatives in Iowa. Government agencies don’t routinely share records across state lines, so database searches in New York and New Jersey aren’t likely to find those records.
Added to that, the information in a database is only as good as the process used to retain, store and update it. There is no national standard for how information must be vetted, updated or kept. Information based on database records is vulnerable to human error, outdated policies and lax procedures.
And when you take the possibilities of identity theft and online fraud into consideration, you might say there is no way to conclusively verify someone’s background.
But you would be wrong.
People can change their name, obscure their background, even purchase fake identification.
But they can’t fake their fingerprints.
This is why anyone with a professional license, applying for sensitive government work, or a position involving national security is required to submit a fingerprint sample. It’s a time-tested procedure that has proven so accurate, it remains the gold standard for personal identification.
Even better, fingerprints taken with LiveScan technology can be forwarded directly to the FBI for processing.
Unlike online database background check services, the FBI has access to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The same system police across the country consult during criminal investigations.
Which means fingerprint-based background checks processed by the FBI aren’t subject to the many opportunities for errors or omissions common when multiple people input data into numerous databases all over America.
This level of confidence is readily available to anyone residing in the North and South Carolina region.
Simply contact Carolina Fingerprinting, LLC. Our mobile business model guarantees your fingerprinting experience will be safe, convenient, quick and accurate.
Our locally owned and operated company will:
1. bring a state-of-the-art mobile fingerprinting lab directly to your door
2. provide fingerprinting services for any size group
3. forward your results to your inbox in as little as 3 hours.
Why order a background check unless you can be sure the information is complete, accurate and up-to-date? Before you bring an unknown entity into your world, let Carolina Fingerprinting, LLC check them out.
Click here to schedule an appointment today.