The Work Number report (used by recruiters and HR) is quite comprehensive, and includes information on a job seeker’s employment dates, salary history, paystub information, health care provider, whether someone has dental insurance, and if they’ve ever filed an unemployment claim. It also now shows business income, which I suspect is being sold by QuickBooks. Previously, procuring this data was illegal, but Equifax found a work-around, and sells it as an HR product.
How does Equifax obtain this sensitive information? With the willing aid of thousands of U.S. businesses, including much of the Fortune 500. Government agencies (as much as 80-85% of the federal civilian workforce) use the service, including schools and healthcare workers. In order to access the data, these organizations also allow a quid pro quo – they allow Equifax to tap directly into their HR systems so the credit bureau can sell the information to others. In other words, these organizations actually pay Equifax for the privilege of giving away their employees' personal information.
Equifax also sells this data to third parties, including debt collectors and other financial services companies. This blog details why companies provide that consent, and what you can do to stop it: ~https://backgroundproof.com/twn-compendium/#why-job-seekers-must-be-aware~
How to Get your own Report:To start, you might want to pull a report yourself, if anything to make sure it is accurate, or to be prepared so as to not lose a job offer based on something in the TWN. Because the data is considered a credit report, consumers are entitled to one free report every year. The report shows what data the report contains, and what entities have seen it.
You’ll have to sign-up on their form (it’s alright, they have your information already anyways). If that doesn’t work (about 40% of the time it won’t go through) you’ll have to contact them directly. I’ve created an online page that gives detailed instructions on this here:
~https://backgroundproof.com/twn-compendium/#requesting-a-free-copy~