10Jun

Woman Catches Husband in Fake Murder Plot With Fake Facebook Profile

Categories: Background Check & Due Diligence Web 2.0 Technology
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We know Facebook gets brought up in a lot of divorce cases, but this is ridiculous.

A 29-year-old woman going through a difficult divorce created a fake profile in an attempt to get some dirt on her soon-to-be-ex-husband.

Posing as a 17-year-old girl named Jessica Studebaker, Angela Voelkert contacted her husband, David, 38, on Facebook. The friendship that developed between the husband and the fake profile turned out to be a lot more incriminating than Angela could have imagined at the outset… or so she thought.

In messages with “Jessica,” David predictably asked the girl to run away with him; he also admitted that he had installed a GPS tracking system on his wife’s vehicle — both of which are enough for criminal charges in themselves.

The husband then proceeded to tell “Jessica,” a.k.a. Angela Voelkert, that he wanted his wife out of the picture — and by “out of the picture,” we mean “deceased.”

However, David has been able to prove to prosecutors he knew the fake account was his wife all along. Although he fed his ex quite a line in the messages, the charges have been dropped.

This is the fake profile the wife used to catch her husband supposedly plotting her murder.

Here are some excerpts of the messages from court documents:

“Once she is gone, I don’t have to hide with my kids… I can do what I want and not have to worry about not seeing my family anymore. You should find someone at your school. There should be some gang-bangers there that would put a cap in her ass for $10,000. I am done with her crap!

… See, I am taking care of everything! I will finally be free, my kids can grow up and not be around all the hatred, it will be over. With me gone with my kids, the police can’t pin anything on me as I will be in another state, so I will be fine.

Will you be ready to go with me on the 10th? Let me know, baby!”

There are so many takeaways from this news item. Don’t feed the trolls, especially if the troll in question is your ex. Don’t start drama on Facebook. Don’t get police and criminal courts involved in your petty personal issues.

But if you learn nothing else from this news, please put this piece of advice in your back pocket: If you’re going through a divorce, don’t use Facebook. At all. Ever. Period.

 

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8Jun

Screening The Screeners: Airport arrests raise security questions

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By Douglas Quan, Postmedia News

They’re entrusted with keeping travellers safe in the skies.

But the recent arrest of two Vancouver International Airport security screeners for conspiring to export drugs has once again raised the question: Who’s screening the screeners at Canada’s major airports?

Sen. Colin Kenny, former chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, said the infiltration of organized crime in Canada’s airports is pervasive, but background checks of airport workers and the screen-ing of employees when they enter or leave restricted areas are woefully inadequate.

“The government knows all these problems. The government has not taken action on any of these problems,” Kenny said in an interview.

Late last month, police announced they had arrested a man at the Vancouver airport for attempting to carry a backpack full of ecstasy -nearly 15 kilograms worth -onto a plane bound for Los Angeles.

It is alleged that the man did not have the backpack on him while he went through security screening, but somehow acquired it after he was cleared.

Canada Border Services Agency officers intercepted the man at the departure gate as he waited to board the plane. A spokeswoman declined to say how authorities were tipped off.

The investigation led to the arrests of two uniformed, preboard screening officers employed at the airport. One was a supervisor. The other was a frontline worker.

One of the two had a recent conviction for credit card fraud and was on probation.

Their employer, Aeroguard Group, said the two men have since been suspended without pay.

Kenny said background checks of airport employees who work in restricted areas need to be more rigorous.

Right now, checks happen every five years, and, according to Kenny, consist merely of typing in a person’s name into a database and seeing if something bounces back. Kenny said the checks should happen at least every three years and should be more probing for associations with criminal groups.

Kenny also said airport employees should be screened for contraband every time they enter or exit a restricted area. This is the practice in Britain.

In Canada, such screening is random and, according to Kenny, occurs only one to two per cent of the time. “They could be bringing drugs, bombs or guns,” he said.

Transport Canada is the agency responsible for setting up regulations and policy for aviation security in Canada.

In an e-mail, Transport Canada spokeswoman Melanie Quesnel said background checks on employees working in restricted zones at airports are similar to checks performed on federal employees with secret-level clearances -and those are valid for 10 years.

Under a 2009 agreement with the RCMP, those checks were expanded, enabling Transport Canada to “base security clearance decisions on more complete data from a broader range of intelligence sources.”

Citing security reasons, Quesnel declined to say how often airport workers are screened for contraband when they enter restricted areas. She did not say why they’re done only on a random basis.

Transport Canada said it does not keep statistics on airport employees charged with on-the-job criminal violations. If the agency obtains information that a worker poses a transportation security risk, “the department responds immediately to refuse, suspend or revoke the clearance of the individual in question,” said Maryse Durette, another Transport Canada spokeswoman.

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7Jun

The Dangers To U.S. & Worldwide Employers From ‘Ban The Box’ Legislation

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To prevent job applicants with criminal records from automatic hiring rejection, cities and states are considering and already adopting so-called “Ban the Box” laws and ordinances. Among the states that have adopted such a law are Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Mexico, and the cities of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia. Among the states mulling such legislation are Rhode Island and Nebraska, and the city of Pittsburgh.

This Alert lauds the policy considerations behind “Ban the Box” type of legislation, but points out how it can unintentionally create impossible-hiring decisions and pose huge legal risks for employers.

To read more click here:

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3Jun

10 Red Flags Property Managers May Face During the Tenant Screening Process

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As experienced property managers, we have learned to recognize these 10 “red flags” during the tenant screening process. These are the 1st 5 “red flags” we encounter while showing the property to a prospective tenant. Try to remember that theses are only “red flags” and their answers may be true, but there is a need to investigate further.

1. The prospective tenant offers more than the advertised rent and security deposit. (This is a scam that has been going on for awhile. A prospective tenant will send an email offering to pay with a cashier’s check and actually write an amount larger than the cost and ask for a refund from the landlord. The landlord cashes the check, writes the prospective tenant the refund amount and then the check later goes bad.)
2. They are willing to pay all cash and need to move in right away.
3. They ask if they can do all the property maintenance because they’ll be doing the property owner a big favor.
4. They say they have always owned and are “above the process”
5. They immediately speak poorly about their current landlord saying that they will not give them a good reference.

After you receive the application these are the last 5 “red flags” that we generally encounter.

To read more click here

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27May

Technology helps clear background checks

Categories: Background Check & Due Diligence Web 2.0 Technology
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New machine speeds up process for volunteers

By Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald

Volunteers waiting for criminal background checks to get approved got good news Wednesday from police, who said they are working through the backlog clogging the system.

But the executive director of Volunteer Alberta says the change is happening too slowly.

Last year, the federal government stipulated that volunteers who work with children or the elderly would have to submit fingerprints as part of criminal background checks if their birthdates and gender match those of a known sex offender.

The idea was to provide an extra measure of security against sex offenders who changed their names and wanted to volunteer to work with kids.

The rule change created a backlog as thousands of people waited for months to get their background checks approved.

In March, Calgary police started using a Live Scan machine to take electronic fingerprints to speed up the process. In June, the CPS will get a second machine.

Calgary Minor Soccer Association executive director Daryl Leinweber said his organization does the second most criminal background searches in Calgary per year, sending over 2,000 background checks to authorities.

“About one-third come back with regard to something on them. That’s an awful lot of people to send down for fingerprinting. That’s why it was really important with regards to the new process and electronic filing,” said Leinweber.

“It looks like now the process is only going to take a couple weeks compared to where it was taking upwards of three months, four months, so that’s awesome.”

The soccer season has already begun, yet over 100 people who want to volunteer are still waiting for their background checks to clear, he said.

Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson, speaking at a news conference about vulnerablesector police checks, as they are called, said the force is working on reducing the backlog and hopes to one day have machines at district offices to do more searches.

“It was a major issue. We’ve since really eaten into the backlog and cut into the time that’s required to complete these and we’re down to about two weeks now,” said Hanson.

Karen Lynch, executive director of Volunteer Alberta, said getting more Live Scan machines is a start, but police also need more people to work them.

“It’s not a question of more machines, although that’s going to be helpful. Machines don’t operate by themselves, you need to have more staff, and that’s been the challenge all along.”

She said police in Edmonton have more staff and do more than double the searches than Calgary can per day.

Hanson also noted that even with security checks, parents should still speak with their children about sexual abuse.

“Unfortunately, people believe that once a security check is done, they don’t have to be vigilant. I’m here to tell you that these vulnerable-sector checks will only identify those that have been convicted. There are still individuals who are out there that are predators that have not been caught yet,” said Hanson.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews was in Calgary to announce that 29 police forces across the country are now working with RCMP and their real-time identification system to lessen the wait times.

“These changes made sure offenders can no longer hide their past sexual offences by simply changing their names,” said Toews.

smassinon@calgaryherald.com

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23May

Fraud By Employees is Growing

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Fraud by employees is the fastest growing economic crime, accounting for between 60% and 85% of all fraud committed against businesses – depending whose figures you believe. The annual Fraud Barometer, published by KPMG, showed a 50% increase in the first half of 2008. Bank related fraud recorded its highest ever year-on-year rate of increase.

In attempting to prevent fraudulent acts being committed by employees a great deal of emphasis is placed on employee screening ahead of employment, either by a firm’s own HR professionals or through third parties, such as employment agencies. Realistically, such measures cannot be relied on to do more than deter and filter out some applicants, with existing ‘form’. Even if effective screening can be afforded at all levels of an organisation, the emphasis on new employees can be misleading. Fraud experts point out that individual fraud is often perpetrated by employees who have a significant length of service. According to the Workplace Law Network ” 90% of fraudulent employees have been with their employer for more than a year – and 20% for more than a decade “

If you can’t keep fraudsters out of your business, robust internal controls will serve to detect as well as to deter.

For more information click here

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22May

Labor and Employment: Can An Inexpensive Background Check Prevent Tragedy?

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Can employers face liability for failing to conduct pre-employment background checks? What background information may employers consider? Should a 20-year-old homicide conviction preclude someone from driving a bus? These are some of the questions arising in the wake of a recent tragic bus accident involving a driver with a criminal record.

Based on this tragic story, employers are reminded to determine if their employee-screening strategy is both legal and adequate. Inadequate precautions may lead to disaster (and, obviously, claims by customers, employees, and others). Failing to follow federal and state rules on background screenings may lead to civil rights charges or claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by rejected applicants. Below are some of the major issues involved in developing an appropriate strategy. But first, a consideration of the facts of the recent tragedy reveals some practical challenges and potential consequences.

(more…)

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