The Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) is a California law that requires investigative consumer reporting agencies (ICRAs) to institute reasonable procedures to ensure they provide and use consumer information in a way that is fair, equitable and respects consumers’ right to privacy, particularly with regard to reports furni
When an employer performs a background check on you and finds incorrect information, you have options and rights.
Even if you feel that you have nothing to hide or don’t particularly care whether an employer knows a lot about your private life, there are still reasons you should pay attention and understand your rights when it comes to background checks.
The federal law governing employment background checks (Fair Credit Reporting Act) doesn’t prohibit employers from asking questions about criminal history on a job application. Ban the Box laws (check box on job applications about criminal history) are being enacted at the state, county and city level in response to this practice.
Credit reports are compiled by a credit reporting agency and contain data from many different sources. They are commonly used to make decisions about a person’s ability to obtain credit, employment, insurance and rent or purchase a home. Government agencies also use credit reports during the course of investigations.
We often hear people use the terms credit report and credit score interchangeably without realizing they are different. It’s understandable since credit scores and credit reports are related (credit scores can be based upon information found in a credit report). Both may be used by financial institutions, employers and others to make critical decisions affecting your ability to obtain a line of credit, loan, employment, insurance or rental. However, credit reports and credit scores are used for different purposes, come with very different rights and aren't equally transparent.
There are a number of different ways to make your voice heard if you believe that someone isn’t complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Yes. If you don't pay attention to the permissions, you may give apps access to more information than you'd like. Android and iOS both provide tools (in the settings) that allow you to have some control over whether an app can get or use specific types of data. An app may need to access your contacts list to add friends, or it might need to be able to use the camera to remotely deposit a check at your bank. An app might also be collect information that seems unrelated to its purpose, like a flashlight app accessing your contacts.
If you’ve ever lost your phone or had it stolen, you know the feeling of panic that comes with it. Your phone can hold and access just about anything and everything from your daily life (memories with family and friends, where and when you’re supposed to be at any given time, medical and bank information). As such, it’s important to do your best to protect your personal information in the event that something like this happens.
When someone causes another number to come up on your caller ID to hide their identity, it's called spoofing. While spoofing software can be used for illegal purposes, this technology is not always illegal. For example your doctor may call you on a mobile phone, but displaying the office number on caller ID.