The Five People in Your Life You Need to Background Check
ShareHave you ever run a background check on someone? You might be surprised how easy it is to do and to know that you should be running background checks on people in your own life. Here are four people you should know more about.
Your Online Date
You've been talking online or even on the telephone, and you're really hitting it off. It's time to do some checking to make sure that this person is legitimate. A background check will give you information like marital status, location, and criminal history. These are all things the other person could be lying about, and you need to make sure you're talking to the person you think you are.
Your Real-Life Date
Guess what? People who might hurt you aren't always online. If you meet someone at the supermarket or in a bar, go ahead and run a background check before you go on that first date. At the least, doing so will give you peace of mind, but a background check could also save you from a potentially dangerous situation.
Your Kid's Coach
Think about who your children spend time with when they aren't with you. Are they under the supervision of a youth group leader, a coach, or a club leader?
Anyone who spends time leading children should have a background check. Most organizations are required by law to do this, and some will even if it's not mandatory. Ask to see the background checks run on adults who spend time with your kids. If the organization can't produce one, run it yourself.
Be especially vigilant with volunteers. Most people volunteer because they enjoy working with kids and want to donate their time, but sometimes people who have bad intentions volunteer as an excuse to spend time with children.
Your Babysitter
It might seem obvious to run a background check on a sitter, but many people don't. If you hired your babysitter through an agency, background checks were run. But if your babysitter is a nice kid you met at the playground or someone recommended by a friend, you should run your own background check.
Your Handyman (or Woman)
You should know the criminal history of anyone who works in your house. This includes people who come in to fix and maintain your property.
It might feel like you are being less than trusting, but you need to know who is spending time in your house with your kids and alone with you. Background checks are easy to run and give you a sense of security that is priceless.