Background Screening

In this month’s newsletter, I thought we would discuss password security. About 93% of all Rental Services, Inc. clients access the RSI website. Every person who uses the RSI website is issued a unique username and password to login to the website. Some use the site to order reports and others simply use it to review completed reports. During a recent RSI team meeting it was brought up that we continue to receive phone calls from clients about login issues. As we explain the steps to recover or reset the password using the built-in tools from the website, we often find the client is sharing login information with someone else in their office. The person sharing the password doesn’t know the answers to the security questions and they can’t reset the password. This causes problems for everyone involved. No one using the RSI website should share their login information with others. It is a direct violation of the RSI Services Agreement and the credit bureaus require us to su...

Keeping information secure is vital. We have recently implemented a new layer of defense to our already solid security platform.   Multifactor Authentication (MFA) makes it more difficult for an unauthorized person to enter our system and access sensitive information. This multi-layered approach requires a combination of two independent credentials: a knowledge factor (something that only the authorized user should know) and a possession factor (something that only the user has access to).   If you are not already using MFA…you should be! We will be contacting clients in the coming months to get you on-board with our new authentication system.   What to expect as you begin using the new system…   You will notice a change when accessing our website only during one of the following: When you login for the first time under the new criteria When you login from a different (unknown) computer When your login from a different   IP addre...

This time of year is financially tough on most people. As a landlord, you may be tempted to give possible tenants a break. By screening only one applicant (instead of each adult on the application) the screening fee is greatly reduced, but so then, is your security. This seemingly small moment of generosity quickly turns into an overwhelming problem. Let’s just look at the facts: If your possible tenant is having trouble paying a screening fee, they are probably going to have trouble paying you rent. If your tenants get to pick and choose who among them get screened, then it is very easy to hide a criminal record or bad credit. If you are selective about whom you screen and to what degree, you are opening yourself up to a possible Fair Housing lawsuit.   At RSI we advise all of our clients to screen each person over the age of 18 who will be residing on the property. That means that on any given application you would screen each person in ...