Group One Investigations Need to Make Sure Someone is Who They Say They Are? Request One of Our Expert and Confidential Background Checks

In an ideal world, you would be able to take people at face value, but as we live in an increasingly imperfect world often we need to check that someone is who they claim to be, and that they are representing themselves truthfully. In that type of situation, a background check might be required. There are multiple reasons people use private investigators to run background checks, and they fall into four broad categories. 

• Personal – Dating 
• Employment
• Business Due Diligence
• Financial Records Check

Personal/ Dating/ Identity Check

We are often asked to run background checks on individuals to ensure they are as they represent themselves, particularly from an online dating point of view. It is reasonable and rational to be skeptical if someone sounds too good to be true online or in person. Often, they are exactly who they say they are, but sadly sometimes nefarious individuals can be online with the aim of catfishing, or meeting people to run scams and otherwise con their victims out of money, and/ or property. Or your potential partner may be having multiple romantic relationships at the same time. 

Running a background check prior to entering into a serious partnership of any kind is a good idea, particularly if anything about their behaviour raises a red flag, for example asking to borrow money, being evasive about romantic history, displaying signs of temper or controlling behaviour etc. 

Group One’s expert investigators can run extensive and discreet background checks to provide peace of mind, for various things including:

• Criminal, civil and domestic violence court attendances – obviously important to know and if your partner hasn’t disclosed this to you, or outright lied about it, you definitely need to know
• Assets – con artists often misrepresent their assets and holdings to disguise an interest in your assets, particularly if you are wealthy
• Social and internet activity – we can check if they are on myriad online dating sites, have various social media profiles, or are seeing multiple people at once
• Marriage history and status
• Credit history

So, if you have any worries about your potential or current partner, running a background check is a great way to put your mind at ease. 

Pre-Employment Background Checks

Another extremely common type of background check is that which occurs pre-employment, particularly in industries where skills and secrecy are at a premium, for example, software companies, or anywhere with a need for high-security.

Background checks can ensure that the candidate is who they say they are, that they are really qualified and ensure you aren’t letting anyone join and represent your company who will cause issues. Pre-employment background checks cover things such as:

• Pre-employment / CV fact check
• Criminal, civil, domestic violence court attendances
• Social media – do they conduct themselves in a way befitting your company? 
• Employment history – what do their past colleagues really think of them
• Social activity – what does your potential employee do in their spare time – could their conduct threaten a contract?

Business Due Diligence 

The third main category of background checks is business due diligence. You want to check that people you are going to do business with are who they say they are, have the experience and assets they represent themselves as having and that they are trustworthy – before you enter into a partnership. Background checks cover important areas such as:

• Bankruptcy / Insolvency verification
• Criminal and civil case they have been involved in
• Asset searches
• Social media behaviours and presence
• Court judgements
• Social activity – what does a potential business partner etc do in their spare time – could their conduct threaten business
• Credit history

Financial Records Check

Financial records background checks encompass all financials such as bankruptcy, title searches, vehicle ownership, boats and any kind of vehicle. This type of check can also show mortgages, ownership, joint ownership, caveats and anything financial you need to know about anyone you plan to work with or enter into any kind of partnership. 

You can read more about background checks here. If you would like to discuss undertaking a discreet and reliable background check with the experts at Group One Investigations, please contact us.