Are You Working with a Criminal? Here’s How to Find Out

Sometimes things just don’t add up at the job site. Whether it’s a co-worker who’s acting strange, an accountant who fudges numbers, or a boss who’s a little dodgy, many people have stopped and wondered if something shady is going on. Are you working with a criminal? If so, how do you find out for sure?

Fortunately you don’t need to be a certified private investigator to find out if you’re working with a criminal. Knowing that a co-worker or supervisor is breaking the law requires careful research, some of which cannot be completed overnight. Background check services are also crucial, as they can provide reliable information that eliminates the guesswork. You want to do this the right way, after all, as it could have serious repercussions for your own career.

Below we’ll cover everything you need to know about how to find out if you’re working with a criminal, including the best background check services you can use while doing your research.

Are you working with a criminal? 4 steps to find out

You may be surprised to learn how many people work with criminals every day. Some of them are reformed, some of them aren’t. No matter their current status, you can follow the steps below to find out if you are working with a criminal.

Step 1 – Do your homework

Surprisingly, the first step in finding out whether or not you’re working with a criminal not running a background check. Before you investigate further, or before you accuse anyone of anything, you need to know if what you suspect your co-worker of doing is actually against the law. This means researching federal and state labor laws, contract information, and related data.

Many labor laws are specific to the state you live in. Employees in California, for example, are governed by slightly different regulations than people living in Alabama or Florida. Federal labor laws do cover a number of situations, but by and large you will need to understand state-wide regulations to determine whether or not you’re working with someone who may be a criminal.

Start your search by checking through the U.S. Department of Labor’s database. A wealth of information can be found here, including regulations relating to your industry as well as conduct guidelines for workplace behaviors. Once you narrow down your goals here, use your favorite search engine to locate more information.

Of course, not everyone in the workplace you suspect of being a criminal will be currently breaking laws. If you’re unsure what your co-worker or employer may be up to, skip this step for now and come back later.

Step 2 – Have a conversation

Talking things out is often the best way to gather information. You don’t need to confront your co-worker with suspicions, of course, but having conversations with them about mundane things can help you understand their actions a little better. It could be that their suspicious activity is due to nervousness about an unrelated subject. Or maybe they’re having problems at home and are having a difficult time performing work duties. Either way, having a casual talk with them can help clear up your misconceptions before moving forward with your research.

Remember: you are not a private investigator, and your life is not a television show. Do not confront people with blind accusations, and don’t attempt to interrogate anyone about criminal activity, either past or present. This step is mainly designed to help you get a feel for them as a person to make sure your suspicions have ground to stand on. Treat them like any ordinary co-worker, and only move to the next step if you’re sure something unusual is going on.

Step 3 – Cursory information check

Chances are good that whatever suspicious activity put your co-worker on the “criminal” radar in the first place isn’t confined to the job site. If they’re doing illegal activities in any part of their life, signs will show up, especially on social media. For this step of your research, all you need to do is find your co-worker on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and see what they’re posting. You can also visit search engines and type in their name to see what comes up, but overall, Facebook posts are more likely to give you the evidence you need to proceed.

What do you look for on the internet? This one’s difficult to pinpoint, as there are few firm signs that someone is breaking the law. In general, look for anything out of the ordinary. Posts bragging about big purchases such as new cars are a dead giveaway, especially if someone working in that position couldn’t afford to spend that much money. Don’t let your imagination get carried away, and don’t interact with them on social media. Just search, observe, and record, that’s all.

Step 4 – Verify with a background check

Once you’re confident in your suspicion that you’re working with a criminal, and once you know they actually did or are breaking the law, it’s time to collect data. Internet searches and spying on co-workers on social media can only go so far. Criminals know to keep their activities hidden, so even if you didn’t find anything on social media, you can proceed to the background check phase of your research for some reliable information.

Finding a good company that works with background checks isn’t easy. We’ve provided a few recommended services below to help you get started. Each one is affordable, easy to use, and delivers tons of public records to your fingertips, all with a quick name and location search from your smartphone or home computer.

Best background check services for criminal records

Once you’ve eliminated as many variables as possible, it’s time to gather some data on your co-workers. Use these background checks to find out if you’re working with a criminal by looking through arrest reports, criminal records, and much more.

1 – Instant CheckMate

Instant CheckMate is a public records searching service that lets you perform online background checks with a minimum amount of fuss. You can use it to search for anyone in the United States, checking through arrest records, criminal records, known aliases, financial history, previous jobs, and even their net worth. All of this information is delivered fast and conveniently through an easy to use web interface and on mobile apps for both Android and iOS, as well.

Using Instant CheckMate is as straightforward as typing in someone’s name and general location, then clicking the search button. ICM sources its data from countless real public records and organizes it so you can get the information you’re looking for as quickly as possible. It also comes with extremely affordable subscription plans that come with unlimited data searches and work for any budget.

When you need to know if you’re working with a criminal, and you need to find out right away, Instant CheckMate is one of the best background searching services you can use.

2 – TruthFinder

The hardest part about finding out if you’re working with a criminal is getting reliable data. TruthFinder simplifies that process so anyone can do it. The background checking service offers full and unlimited access to a wealth of public record information, including criminal and arrest data, contact information, financial histories, and employment records. You can also use TruthFinder to search for deep and dark web information and social media data to check and see if you’re working with a criminal who keeps their activities mostly online.

While many companies offer searches through thousands of records sources, few present the information in an easy to understand way. TruthFinder delivers the data you need in smart reports that anyone can read, even if you’re not an expert in criminal record searches or background information. Combine that with unlimited search potential and some of the most affordable subscriptions in the industry and you’ve got the perfect solution for all of your criminal check needs.

3 – Intelius

When you need accurate and up-to-date information on co-workers and bosses, Intelius is the background checking service for you. The fast and affordable company lets you search through billions of public records to see if you’re working with a criminal from any state in the U.S., combing across arrest reports, social network data, financial information, and so much more. You can join Intelius and enjoy unlimited searches in a matter of minutes, giving you all the tools you need to check up on your co-workers for potential criminal activity.

Final step – Time to take action

What should you look for in background check results? There are a lot of things that could raise suspicions, as well as a lot of things that seem suspicious but are completely ordinary. Overall, you’ll want to confirm that the person in question does have a criminal past. That’s the most likely indicator of a criminal present and would warrant completing your research.

Here are a few red flags that may show up in your background check:

• Inconsistent data between the background check and what you know about the person.
• Uses known aliases or has recently changed addresses multiple times.
• Has an active arrest record or criminal charges in the last few years.
• Missing or obviously fake data.

If your research proved fruitful, and especially if your background checks revealed any of the above information, you can finally think about taking action. Again, remember this is the real world, not a television show. Don’t walk into your boss’ office and slam down printouts from your TruthFinder search. Take this slowly and calmly, protecting yourself at every turn.

In general, the best first step after confirming that you are working with a criminal is to talk to your employer (assuming your employer isn’t the criminal in question). Have a private conversation with your boss, present the information you gathered, and leave it to him or her to make any decisions moving forward.

In many cases it’s a good idea to deal with the criminal situation outside of the workplace. Not only does this keep you safe, it also ensures no one you work with will catch wind of what’s going on and warn the person in question. Once you have background check information in hand, contact a local lawyer and set up a consultation. Photos and other in-work evidence are key here, so if you have more evidence, bring that to the meeting, as well. The lawyer will advise you moving forward.

Conclusion

If you think you’re working with a criminal, it’s surprisingly easy to find out for sure. Carefully following the steps above, complete with running a thorough background check, is the best and safest way to proceed.

Have you ever suspected that you were working with a criminal? What did you do, and how did things turn out? Share your experiences in the comments below.