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Resources for Businesses

My Home Location

Columbus, OH, USA

My BBB

BBB of Central Ohio
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Business Profile

Background Checks

SmartBackgroundChecks.com

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Background Checks.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 130 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 22 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

Sort by

Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/03/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I am performed the smartbackgroundchecks.com optout process many times over the past two (2) weeks, but my information is still displaying at the following:***********************************************************************************

    Business Response

    Date: 03/26/2024

    Hello,

    Your listing has now been removed.


    Note that certain requests may take longer as we verify the identity of the requestor. Ensure that you clear your browser cache and do not click on saved links. Please re-perform the search to verify your request.

    Best regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support
     
    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/13/2024

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Hello I have emailed smartbackgroundchecks.com numerous times for months to delete my information on their site since the opt out option is not available due to some strange way they have posted my private information. they do not response and do not have any other way of contacting them. this is ridiculous that although they have been informed that I do not give them access to use my information they keep doing it, this is illegal. please address this ASAP

    Business Response

    Date: 03/06/2024

    Hello,

    We have submitted your listing for removal, per your request.

    Please allow 3-5 business days for this to **************.

    Note that certain requests may take longer as we verify the identity of the requestor. Ensure that you clear your browser cache and do not click on saved links. Please re-perform the search to verify your request.

    Best regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support
     
    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/11/2024

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I found my name on SmartBackgroundChecks and my home phone. We have had a large amount of spam phone calls. I requsted that zI be deleted- unsuccessfully.Please help.

    Business Response

    Date: 03/05/2024

    Hello,

    SmartBackgroundChecks allocates the data that we provide from public record. If your records are not available, we either did not receive any public data about you or your information has been removed or privatized. We apologize for the inconvenience.

    Thank you,
    SmartBackgroundChecks

    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/09/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Smartbackgroundchecks.com is selling my personal information online. I'd like to opt-out, as is my legal right.The instructions on their website, (*************************************), say to "navigate to your records using the search features. When you find your record there will be a gold button that looks like" ... "By clicking this button, an email will be sent to you to confirm your desire to remove the record from our system." Upon following these instructions and navigating to my record, no such button exists! I have searched extensively for it, and it's nowhere to be found.The only possibility that I can think of is that *** require users to create an account with their paid service to delete their data. If that's the case, this is illegal and a violation of the Delete Act (CA SB-362). I demand that they add an opt-out button that does not require sign up, or provide clear instructions on their website for individuals to opt out without creating an account. If they do not do this, I *** consider legal action.

    Business Response

    Date: 03/05/2024

    Hello,

    SmartBackgroundChecks allocates the data that we provide from public record. If your records are not available, we either did not receive any public data about you or your information has been removed or privatized. We apologize for the inconvenience.

    Thank you,
    SmartBackgroundChecks

    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/01/2024

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Recently I found this company smartbackgroundchecks.com posted my personal information on the web violating my civil rights. Previously, I know for sure that I didn't see my name and my information appeared on the ****** search under Smartbackgroundchecks.com. In January **** I have been a victim of fraudulent activities, receiving more scam phone calls. then I FOUND OUT that my name was posted/appeared in the ****** search under smartbackgroundchecks.com. Smartbackgroundchecks is displaying all my information address, phone numbers, properties values, family names. This is absurd! I always keep my personal information safe and away from websites for security reasons, I am not active in sosmed, and very careful and frugal in managing my finances.I have never consented to be included in any of the SmartBackgroundChecks databases. I have been trying to remove my name from their system for hours but have no luck. The instructions were unclear and complicated. They are doing it on purpose to complicate the opt-out process, and asking me for money to pay them. What a dirty business model! I have never consented to be included in your database.Please REMOVE ALL MY INFORMATION from your database!

    Business Response

    Date: 02/20/2024

    Hello,

    We apologize for any inconvenience. Please provide the URL/web address of your profile details page so we can identify your profile.

    Best regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support
     
    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/22/2024

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    ********************************************************************************************** Smart Background Checks has my entire personal information displayed in ****** search. I requested ****** and Smart Background Checks to remove my info and neither one has done this. I am receiving threatening calls from fake debt collectors with my personal information.

    Business Response

    Date: 02/16/2024

    Hello,

    We apologize for any inconvenience. Please provide the URL/web address of your profile details page so we can identify your profile.

    Best regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support
     
    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/18/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Suddenly getting baraged with pop-up messages all with "smartbackgroundchecks.com". I've never heard of this site and have never used it

    Business Response

    Date: 03/06/2024

    Hello,

    At some point you agreed to receive Push Notifications from SmartBackgroundChecks through your browser when visiting our site. We understand that you no longer want the notifications and would like to assist. Unfortunately, we cannot stop your browser notifications on our side, but here are the instructions for stopping them for all major browsers and mobile devices. These instructions will work for ALL browser popups.

    How to Disable **************** on Desktop

    Chrome Browser
    See how you can enable or disable web push notification in Chrome
    Step 1-
    Open Chrome browser and follow the given path or simply type-
    chrome://settings/content in a new tab.
    Step 2-
    A pop-up window with content setting will be displayed.
    Scroll down to Notifications
    Go to Manage Exceptions
    Step 3-
    In this section a list of website URL, you have subscribed for will appear. Select the website URL you want to unsubscribe. Here you can allow, deny or completely delete a website URL.


    Firefox Browser
    Check how you can enable or disable web push notification in Firefox
    Step 1-
    Open Mozilla Firefox browser, then go to Firefox menu and select options.
    Step 2-
    Select the content segment and tap on the choose button under Notifications.
    Step 3-
    A Notification Permissions window will pop-up. In this section, select the site URLs you wish to unsubscribe. Then click on Remove Site.
    To stop all sites from sending push messages, click Remove All Sites.
    Websites will need to ask your permission to send messages in the future.


    Safari Browser
    Check out how to enable or disable web push from a particular website on Safari Browser
    Step 1-
    Open your Safari browser and click on Safari. Under Safari panel click on Preferences.
    Step 2- 
    Select the website you wish to remove from the notification section. Click on Allow or Deny as per your preference.



    How to Disable **************** on Mobile Devices
    Disable Notifications on Android Devices
    Step 1-
    Open Chrome browser and Click on Menu, under this section tap Settings.
    Step 2-
    Scroll Down under Advanced and click on Site Settings
    Step 3-
    In Site Settings, again continue to scroll down and choose Notifications.
    Step 4-
    Select the site you want to allow or deny web push services.
    Step 5-
    On the next screen, tap on clear & reset. A pop-up will appear asking for your permission to allow or Block notifications from the selected website. Choose the option as per your preference.

    Disable Notifications on iPhone
    Step 1-
    Click on the Settings Application.
    Step2-
    Click "Notifications".
    Step 3-
    Click on the PeopleFinders website name listed.
    Step 4-
    Turn off the notification.


    If you follow these instructions and still have issues, you will need to reach out to your browser/device help desk resources.

    Regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support


    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 03/08/2024

     
    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ***********************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/07/2024

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Smart Background Checks has posted my personal information on the web in violation of my civil rights. I am currently a VICTIM of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE in an undisclosed location out of fear for my life! I am also stalked! I demand that this information be taken down IMMEDIATELY! I did not authorize this! This violation directly puts me and my family in imminent danger. I have made numerous attempts to delete this content per their opt out instructions onky to be advised to download malware. I have contacted their customer service line only to hear invalid instructions. PLEASE Help

    Business Response

    Date: 01/19/2024

    Hello,

    We apologize for any inconvenience. Please provide the URL/web address of your profile details page so we can identify your profile.

    Best regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support
     
    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 01/22/2024

    Hello,

    I have contacted ****** who has agreed to remove this info. Is there a way to insure this doesnt reappear? 

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/04/2024

    Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    SmartBackgroundChecks.com has more than an uncomfortable amount of my personal information on it. I went through LifeLock to remove it. I followed the Opt-Out I thought but it looked like there was more than e-mail. So I went to the website and looked myself up. Almost a minute after being terrified of all the information on me they had, then a virus blocker popped up and my securities booted me from the website. So how do I remove my information and not get a computer virus?

    Business Response

    Date: 01/25/2024

    Hello,


    We are happy to assist you with the removal of your information from our website.


    Please go to the link below and carefully follow the instructions. Make sure you complete the steps involving searching for your name, and selecting it for removal.

    You will need to click 'Open Free Background Report' on your search result to see the yellow 'Remove' button.

    *****************************************



    If you are a ********** resident and are looking to exercise your right to opt out under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), please click on the link titled Do Not Sell My Personal Information on the footer of our home page.


    For additional information about the removal of your information, please visit our Privacy Policy found at
    ******************************************


    Regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks.com




    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.


  • Initial Complaint

    Date:12/27/2023

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I do not have any social media and always try to keep my personal information safe and away from websites for security reasons.Smart background website is displaying ALL my information including current address, income, assets and previous phone numbers. I didnt give any consent for my Information to be public and easily accessible to whoever types my name. I am requesting for this website to definitely remove ALL my information from ****** and any other search engines and to avoid making my information public in the future.

    Business Response

    Date: 03/07/2024

    Hello,

    We apologize for any inconvenience. Please provide the URL/web address of your profile details page so we can identify your profile.

    Best regards,
    SmartBackgroundChecks Customer Support
     
    NOTE:  SmartBackgroundChecks is dedicated to helping you find people and learn more about them in a safe and responsible manner. SmartBackgroundChecks is not a ************************* (CRA) as defined by the **** (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This site cannot be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or any related purpose. To learn more, please visit our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

SmartBackgroundChecks.com is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

Why choose a BBB Accredited Business?

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When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period, except for customer reviews. Customer reviews posted prior to July 5, 2024, will no longer be published when they reach three years from their submission date. Customer reviews posted on/after July 5, 2024, will be published indefinitely unless otherwise voluntarily retracted by the user who submitted the content, or BBB no longer believes the review is authentic. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this company, please let them know that you checked their record with BBB.

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