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by tacon 1855 days ago
That "background check" service would be a joke, and out of business almost immediately. Let's say it was a lease application. I certainly am giving my real name, previous addresses, real phone number, real email address, real age, etc. So I enter my SSN with an off by one digit (human typing error, oh my) and this "service" doesn't know my real SSN, a list of every other SSN I ever entered, and 300 other data points about me, in a few milliseconds? That is a rather naive view of the personal data industry, at least in the US. Just the targetable list of items Facebook knows about you (whether you have an account or not, shadow accounts and all that) is rather impressive. The shadow data aggregation industry knows tons more, because all the websites and Visa and everybody is sharing behind the scenes. I'm trying to imagine any adult in the US today coming back with an "empty" background check. Maybe the Unabomber, living in a cabin. Normal people, not so much.