ID software for sale to the public

By MARY LOU PICKEL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Does your job candidate have a rap sheet? Does a potential client have a history of not paying bills? Software now on sale at Sam's Club can help you find the answer.

ChoicePoint, the Alpharetta company that specializes in identification verification, has launched three products that make its databases of personal information available to consumers.

Until now the company has worked mostly with government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and police departments. It provides pre-employment background checks, personal dossiers, insurance underwriting software and other verification services.

Going retail is "a strategy to take our products to different channels," ChoicePoint Vice President Deslie Quinby said.

The products first appeared on shelves last month in 41 Sam's Clubs across the country, including one metro Atlanta store, in Alpharetta. The cereal box-sized packages contain CDs and handbooks that allow the purchaser access to a ChoicePoint Web site and instructions on how to do a background check and other investigations.

James Lee, ChoicePoint's marketing vice president, said both ChoicePoint and Sam's Club saw a niche for retailing small-business products, and the partnership developed this summer.

Small-business owners can use the software, priced from $30 to $60, to get the latest address and telephone number of a company that owes them money, learn if a potential hire has a criminal conviction and buy a customized direct mailing list of 850 names.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, warned that ChoicePoint may open itself to defamation charges if it shares personal information that is not accurate or complete.

He questioned whether sharing personal information is legal.

"Providing information about individuals for background checks has always been controversial," he said.

Past criticism

ChoicePoint has encountered criticism in the past. It agreed this year to stop collecting information on 65 million Mexican citizens after a media firestorm and a ruling from Mexico's Federal Election Institute that the names and other information ChoicePoint bought were confidential.

ChoicePoint says it is taking privacy into account on its new products and will sell the "Employee Background Check" product only to buyers who provide a valid business license.

The software, priced at $40, provides one 10-year background check of criminal convictions and employment and identity verification.

"We have a series of call centers," Quinby said. "We call the place where they used to work, and the same with the reference. And we'll send people to a courthouse and pull a record."

Written consent

The purchaser agrees to obtain written consent from the person undergoing the check, Lee said, and keep that record on file for at least seven years. The user also must agree to be audited by ChoicePoint.

Those restrictions make it impossible to use the products simply to be nosy or make mischief, ChoicePoint says.

"There is not a way that you could use this to check on your neighbor or your daughter's boyfriend," said Lee.

The other products are for sale to anyone who wants to know a little more about a company.

"Minimize Business Risk," sold for $30, provides 50 searches of an array of public records to show if a company has been in bankruptcy, what real estate it owns, incorporation records and white pages for updated phone numbers. The information does not contain personal credit histories but rather a corporation's history of bankruptcies, liens and judgments.

"Find New Customers" allows the consumer to get a list of names and addresses sorted by parameters such as age, location, income level and sex. All are approved for either telemarketing or direct mail, Lee said.

ChoicePoint will test the products for several months to determine how they're selling. With no advertising so far, Sam's Club has sold "a medium amount," Quinby said.

The two companies will decide what approach works best and may adjust sales price or packaging, she said.

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Dr. D. Chevalier, IPC, CPPP, ACOFEI
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The Consortium of Scientific Investigation and Research
Member- American College of Forensic Examiniers International
Investigative Psychology
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