28 years of loans and criminal activity.

I'm turning 28 this Sunday and usually before my birthday I think a little about my past, but today I got curious to a different past that I normally never think of. Today wanted to know what banks, employers, governments, etc. know about me so I decided to get a criminal background check and credit check to see what's on it. The process for getting a background check is creepy because all you need is the person's full name and their state and $40 bucks. The credit check was a bit more secure since it asked for a social security number and some questions that the individual would usually know. In addition, unlike the background check, the credit check shows you who has performed inquiries to your credit history.

I was pleased with my credit history since I received 770 out of 830. According to the report, my credit rating ranks higher than 82.32% of U.S. consumers. The only thing that was found on my report that had a negative impact on my score was a $30 something medical bill that was unpaid when I was in college back in 2003. Since I moved to Washington DC, I never received the bill and it eventually went to my history as unpaid.

My background check was interesting. Apparently I have 5 name aliases, all misspelled versions of my full name (e.g. Everett instead of Everitt). Also, it said that I have reported multiple birthdays where one said I was born in the year 1922 making me 87 years old. Don't know if I'm wrong, but isn't 1922 the default Microsoft Windows year in some applications? My background check also said that I am NOT a sex offender, thank goodness!!!! I would freak out if there was a clerical mistake in that category. The background also showed all the addressed I lived at along with my neighbor's phone numbers, names, a link to their background check, and how many sex offenders were in the area….creepy. My mother's house was also listed in the background check, how much it was worth, and how much my mother paid taxes on it last year along with a link to her background check.  There were also links to my sibling's background check ... wow.

However, I did find four criminal offenses on my background check:

• Arlington, VA 2007 -- DRIVING W/OUT VALID REGISTER. I remember this one; I was pulled over during rush hour going to work because my license plates were expired.


• Arlington, VA 2008 -- FAIL STOP/YIELD ENTERING HWY. This was annoying, I was driving outside of my house and I didn't do a complete stop at the stop sign and a cop saw me.


• Fairfax Co, 2007 -- OPER UNINSPECTED VEHICLE. I always forget to renew my Virginia inspection tags.


• Fairfax Co, 2007 -- HOV VIOLATION. I remember this one. I was driving on I-66 (inside the beltway) around 4:15pm going back to work all happy that I found an apartment for my roommate Pere and me to live in. I found out the expensive way that all I-66 lanes inside the beltway become HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes after 4 pm.

This information is what employers, banks, etc. look at. I wonder what else is out there in a database that I don't know about (e.g. my medical records, etc.) and what it says on it and if there are any mistakes.