Tag: international background searches

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Background Checks

Could You Be Hiring Jihad Jane?

By now most of us have heard of Jihad Jane.   Jane is a blond haired blue eyed, high school dropout who converted to Islam and allegedly believed her life was best spent assisting fundamentalist terrorists by helping them kill their perceived enemies and otherwise providing material support.    She helped recruit other Westerners of similar proclivities to wage violent jihad against the West.   This among other place was reported in an article in  The Washington Post.

Jihad Jane was born  Colleen Renee LaRose.   According to the Post article,  in her more desultory days, been arrested in Texas for passing bad checks and driving while intoxicated.  She had been living in Pennsylvania for quite a number of years.   According to the charges, she was attempting to assist her co-conspirator in moving to Sweden where they reportedly would kill the infidels and try to win converts over to the terrorist cause.

This may sound funky, but we all know that this is true.  What you must realize is that this is the among the worst nightmares for law enforcement and intelligence.   There is no racial profiling here.  These are Westerners who can blend in easily and perform the most horrible acts against the public as well as the government.  We are all too well aware of the tragedies and near tragedies terrorists have perpetrated in the United States, Europe, and other countries around the world.   So while this woman may not appear to have all her oars in the water, she still is dangerous as hell.

The thing is, many terrorists may be funded, but others are not.  They have to eat; they need a place to live.  Which means they have to work.   They may be applying for jobs, and many may be crazy, but certainly not stupid.  It’s the latest wrinkle in the new world in which we live.  While extremely rare you would even find a Jihad Jane lite in your midst, this is definitely not the person you would want to hire.   The ramifications are major.   To say the least,  hiring a terrorist is not the best way to promote your business.   Having the captured terrorist and your business featured on the six o’clock news may prove upsetting to both customers and community.

There are several background checks that can assist in filtering out those on the terror watch lists.   The Global Terror Watch List includes seventeen reporting agencies from the United States and around the world.   It is a relatively inexpensive background check and can be added to any preemployment screening program.   The Global Terror Watch List also includes individuals and entities that are prohibited from working or doing business in the United States.

Again, I stress the chance of your turning up a Jihad Jane among your job applicants is extremely rare.   But keep in mind the greatest concern that law enforcement has is the rising number of home grown terrorists and assorted nut jobs appearing on the radar screen.   There are enough of them to give any employer at list the slightest pause, if not concern.   Besides, for government contracts and when doing business with defense related or homeland security related industries, the Global Terror Watch List is increasingly mandated by most concerns.

So check them out before you hire.

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Background Checks

Background Checks on Future Business Partners

If you are planning on a joint venture or any type of engagement where you have to take on a strategic partner, it behooves you to run background checks on both the corporate entity and the principles of the company.   Conducting background screenings like bankruptcies, liens, and judgments, business credit reports, and criminal and civil records is not only cost effective it is vital in this day and age.

At Corra Group, where we conduct business research and corporate investigation on a daily basis, we find that many business persons come to us, after they have had either second thoughts, or feel they have been taken over.    Looking into your partners, your vendors, or your new business account in the aftermath, usually indicates that something went wrong and now you are looking to determine what kind of mistake you made.   Or, you have been taken for your money, public embarrassed and are now looking for restitution.

Let me make it simple for you.   If you are contacting us in the aftermath of a business deal gone wrong, then changes are you already know the story.  Perhaps you want to go to court and obtain a judgment against your now ex-strategic partner.   Perhaps you want to conduct asset searches to see if this person has money somewhere that you can somehow attach.  In short, changes are you are not the first one the person or the company has taken over.  Unfortunately, you probably won’t be the last.   The sad fact is when you obtain a judgment you will find there is a long line of other former partners or associates who have been victimized by fraudulent scams.   Collecting you money will be difficult, if you are the tenth one in line.  And searching for assets can be a good idea, but then if there are entities with judgments lined up ahead of you, then chances are they will either have first dibs or the money will be split accordingly.   If you are the one who laid out the money for the assets search, then the money you retrieve may not even repay your investment.

Fraud occurs all of the time, but especially in this lousy economy.   People are desperate.  So, either desperate people commit fraudulent acts, or nefarious people take advantage of the desperate ones, bilking them when they are struggling to hold onto their businesses, their houses, whatever.   We see the types of scams where one partner is enticed to put up his money because the other claims that while he has millions tucked away he can’t get to it at the moment, as he is going through a hostile divorce.   After one or more series of a lopsided risk, the one who puts up the money discovers his erstwhile partner is woefully short of cash and his only property is a condo out on the poorer side of town.  Hardly the person he was supposed to be.  Sound odd?  It happens all the time.

I have posted a  number of times on Business Research.   One such article was A Recession Precaution Conducting Business Background Checks.  That was but one of several articles warning anyone going into business ventures to check out the other party.   Not long ago,  our business research dissuaded one group from investing with another where they had to put a hefty six figure escrow into the account.   The other side, once the escrow funding was confirmed, would supposedly make all best efforts to find them a loan.   Not quite.  The scam was the group would pocket the escrow, which was in an offshore account, and our clients would have hell to pay in getting its money refunded.

There are many stories in the Naked City.  Most end up with happy endings.   People promise to pay or promise to invest matching funds.  Then they don’t.  You are stuck, feeling foolish, and a whole lot lighter in the wallet.  Run background checks.  Up front.  You will feel better about your investment.

Check them out before you do business.

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Background Checks Business Research Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Retaining Employees Staffing Uncategorized

What Recruiting You Do, Conduct Extensive Background Checks

Softer Job Prospects Ahead Worldwide
April 14, 2008

By Jeremy Cohen

  1. In yet more cheerful economic news, employers will be taking a step back in second-quarter hiring in many of the world’s largest economies.
  2. That prognosis comes courtesy of a new survey released by Manpower, Inc. Notably, employers in the United States, China, Italy, Norway and Spain have indicated that they will be adding fewer employees in the quarter ahead, marking a more negative tone than in survey results throughout the past year.
  3. For the entire article go to managesmarter.com

The job market may be down, but Corra finds more businesses are conducting pre-employment background checks on all their new employment candidates. The background check is an important tool for any recruitment program.

While job markets ebb and flow, progressive business leaders will always introduce new elements into their job recruitment programs. And some businesses, like those in the the alternative energy sector, are experiencing advancements as they meet the new global challenges.

Corra continues to expand its services to meet the requirements of the traditional industries as well as the emerging industrial sectors. While the job market may be soft at the moment, the criteria established for recruitment is becoming more demanding than ever.

Check them out before you hire.