How to Conduct a Background Investigation on the Cheap

A Google-only approach to background investigations is inexpensive but bound to be incomplete

By Simson Garfinkel

December 01, 2005 — CSO —

These days many employers, parents and even dating partners are using the Google search engine as a tool for conducting essentially free background investigations. Just type in the subject's name, add a few descriptive phrases, and off you go—right?

Background investigation by search engine is cheap but incomplete

In fact, Google can be an important part of the low-cost background investigation. But a proper background investigation should neither start nor end with a few words typed into a search field. If you let "cheap" be an excuse for lazy or haphazard, you might miss important information and get your organization in trouble for discriminatory or capricious hiring practices.

Let's look at some of the problems with the Google-only strategy.

Most background checks start with information provided by the subject who's being investigated. Ask the subject to fill out a form detailing all of her previous employers for the past seven to 10 years, all of the addresses where she lived, any arrests and convictions, and other information that might be appropriate to your organization. Be sure to include the subject's birthday, all schools attended and all degrees earned. Stress to the subject that the report must be complete: Omission is grounds for either not hiring or later termination. Have the subject sign her name to give explicit permission for you or your agents to do a background check.

Next, start verifying the information that the subject provided. If you dont have enough time to verify every line, then decide on a percentage to verify and randomly select those items. One way to do this is to roll a die for each line and verify the item whenever a 1 or 2 is rolled. If you're really cheap, just check one out of every six.

Now it's time to use Google. Instead of trusting phone numbers, addresses or Web URLs provided by your subject, use Google to locate former employers. The contact information provided by the subject could be part of an elaborate ruse. Call the employer directly to see if the information that the subject provided checks out. Ask for facts, avoid opinions, and take notes. If there are discrepancies, determine why the information the subject provided doesnt jibe: Perhaps there are two businesses with the same name. Perhaps the subject fibbed. Always try to find a plausible explanation.

At the end of the phone call, ask the employer if he knows of other places where your subject worked. Write them down in your notes, indicating who gave you the information, precisely what he said and the date.