Synopsis of ESS Reports

The Report Summary page lists each of the report components with turn-around time, status and alerts.  We put a bold “X” in the alert column if there is any negative information or something we just want to bring to your attention.  It’s a nice way to see at a glance if there are items on which to focus.

The Credit Summary is a “snapshot” of the applicant’s finances -- which are detailed in the “Credit Bureau Files” at the end of the report.  The Summary shows any Collections or Public Records (bankruptcy, tax liens, court judgments) as well as the Account Balance (with Installment = fixed payments such as a mortgage or car loan; Revolving = credit card debt; Open = everything else.)  The Past Due amount is the key figure to look at.  Below that is the Account Detail which indicates the number of accounts categorized according to current payment status.  The actual credit report received from the bureau is provided at the end of the entire report.  We annotate it to make it easier to understand.

The SSN Trace will show if the social security number is valid and where and when it was issued.  The main thing we’re looking for is we don’t want to see any unexpected names or social security numbers.  This is often a tip-off the person is trying to conceal a criminal background under a different identity.  Our Trace catches this and makes it difficult for the person to sneak anything past us.  The Trace also shows each address where the person has lived -- which helps us in determining the appropriate criminal search location.  (One idiosyncrasy of the report is that the various database sources report addresses exactly as they are submitted to them.  This may lead to addresses that appear to be slightly different but are in fact the same.  A difference of just one character creates a distinct entry.  Don’t be alarmed.  This does not affect the results in any way.)

For a County Criminal History Search we actually have people who go into all the courthouses in the given county to pull the records … so we’re obtaining up-to-the-minute information.  Some states have a statewide search but often they aren’t all that great.  States compile their information from the various counties but they are usually slow to update and the data is frequently incomplete.  The county search is generally more efficient -- with the exception of a few states.  When a good statewide search is available, however, we’ll automatically run that for you.  Please note some counties/states charge a fee to access criminal records.

We supplement the on-site or state search with the Auxiliary National Criminal Index Search.  This is a collection of databases from all across the country we’ve tied together.  It contains over 180 million records for felonies, misdemeanors, and sex offenders.  If your applicant matches any of these records the index will indicate this.  It looks for convictions outside the location we are doing for you as part of the county or state search.  Although the index does not cover the entire country it does significantly increase the scope of the criminal search.  We conduct this search on all distinct names (e.g., maiden name, previous married name, alias, etc.) that show up anywhere in your report.

The OFAC Search checks various government databases to see if your applicant is listed as a global terrorist or known international drug trafficker or “blocked” person.  

The Federal Criminal Records Search looks for crimes prosecuted in a federal jurisdiction (as opposed to the county jurisdiction where most crimes are handled.)  Historically, federal crimes have been offenses such as interstate drug trafficking, kidnapping, mail fraud, civil rights violations.  Recently, however, Congress has been federalizing more crimes.  Those committed at a financial institution, such as theft or embezzlement are now often prosecuted in federal courts.

The Motor Vehicle Report shows if the license is valid and whether the applicant has a clear record.  It goes back about three years for any accidents, violations, citations and five years or more for any DUI or DWI.  Please note states charge a nominal fee to access driving records.

Education Verification is very important because it is the most abused item we run across.  You don’t want to take someone’s education claims at face value.  Please note some schools outsource their attendance verification and charge a nominal fee to access the records.

On the Employment Verification (if we are able to talk to a person as opposed to having to use one of those dreaded automated verification services) we ask for SSN confirmation, dates, position/duties, salary, reason for leaving, and rehire status.  Depending on the company, sometimes they don’t have everything at their disposal or they may have a policy of not commenting on certain items … good or bad.  Regardless, we always ask.  Please note some companies outsource employment history and charge a nominal fee to access the records.