Absolute People Screen® Privacy Policy
Absolute People Screen® is committed to the responsible use of information and protecting individual privacy rights. Absolute People Screen® strives to provide services to businesses, consumers, non-profit organizations and government agencies that help reduce fraud, mitigate risk, facilitate more informed decisions, and make society safer, in ways that protect consumer privacy. We aspire to protect consumer privacy through the design of our products, by credentialing, monitoring, and auditing our customers as appropriate, and through other information security safeguards. We also strive to promote transparency through consumer education initiatives, privacy principles and policies, and appropriate opportunities for consumer choice, access, and correction with respect to personal information about the consumer.
Data Privacy Principles
The Absolute People Screen® Data Privacy Principles speak to the personally identifiable information including sensitive personally identifiable information, collected, maintained, used or disseminated in connection with services offered by Absolute People Screen®, or by its affiliates (all hereinafter "Absolute People Screen®").
Absolute People Screen® applies these Principles to our products and services where appropriate. In addition, other uses or disclosures may occur as required by applicable law. If the law requires or upon request of law enforcement, or, if necessary, to prevent fraud or to protect our computer systems, these principles may not apply. Absolute People Screen® also, from time to time, may revise our Data Privacy Principles by posting changes on its Web site.
1. SECURITY
Data security is a company imperative. Absolute People Screen® strives to protect personally identifiable information that we maintain or disseminate, including through the use of appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards, so it is not obtained by unauthorized individuals or used impermissibly.
2. DISTRIBUTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
Absolute People Screen® seeks to limit the distribution of personally identifiable information consistent with the nature and sensitivity of the information. In its services, Absolute People Screen® also strives to make available personally identifiable information from sources other than public records or publicly available information only to its authorized users or customers. Similarly, where applicable, Absolute People Screen® strives to restrict access to information in accordance with the appropriate privacy laws. In the case of public record information available to the general public (such as bankruptcy, liens, judgments and criminal records) and publicly available information (such as telephone directory information or personal information available through widely available media), we may make this information available to the general public unless applicable law operates to limit our distribution of such information to authorized users.
If, upon investigation, Absolute People Screen® finds that personally identifiable information has been used or accessed inappropriately or unlawfully, Absolute People Screen® strives to take reasonable steps to stop the misuse or access, educate the user concerning the appropriate use of the information, and prevent similar future misuses. Such steps may include measures up to and including discontinuation of the user's access to Absolute People Screen® information products and services, pursuit of other legal remedies, and the referral of misuse to the appropriate authorities.
3. ACCURACY
Absolute People Screen® strives to accurately report information in its products. Absolute People Screen® also strives to accurately report information that it receives from its data sources. Absolute People Screen® recognizes, however, that reporting errors may occur and offers consumers opportunities, where applicable, to dispute and correct information that we report as discussed further in Principle 9 on Access and Correction.
4. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL ID NUMBERS AND OTHER PII
Absolute People Screen® strives to provide additional safeguards for sensitive personally identifiable information, such as National ID Numbers and other PII. Absolute People Screen® strives to limit the availability and access to full National ID Numbers and other PII. Absolute People Screen® strives to protect the confidentiality of ID Numbers by limiting access to such information to certain legitimate and authorized users, such as: state, local and federal government entities; financial institutions; insurers; employers; creditors; debt collectors and other user types to which Absolute People Screen® may decide to provide such access. A limited number of public records may contain National ID Numbers that are already available to the public and, if such public records are accessed through Absolute People Screen® services, our services may provide access to such PII's. Absolute People Screen® prohibits the unlawful disclosure of PII's.
5. EDUCATION
Absolute People Screen® strives to inform its employees, users and the general public about appropriate use of Absolute People Screen® products and services. Absolute People Screen® strives to inform its users and employees about:
- Privacy and security issues associated with Absolute People Screen® information products and services; and
- The responsible use of personally identifiable information.
Absolute People Screen® strives to inform the public about:
- The responsible use of personally identifiable information; and
- Measures Absolute People Screen® has undertaken to enhance consumer privacy; and choices available to consumers regarding information access and the ability to opt-out of certain products and services which utilize personally identifiable information.
6. REPUTABLE SOURCES
Absolute People Screen® strives to acquire personally identifiable information from established, reputable sources in the government and private sectors. In support of this Principle, Absolute People Screen® takes reasonable steps to assess the reputation and reliability of its private sector data sources before incorporating personally identifiable information from the source into its products and services. Absolute People Screen® also strives to obtain assurances from its data suppliers that they have the legal right to license or sell the data to Absolute People Screen®.
7. CHOICE
Absolute People Screen® strives to allow consumers to opt-out of the dissemination of personally identifiable information from certain Absolute People Screen® owned databases used solely for marketing services.
8. ACCESS & CORRECTION
Absolute People Screen® strives to provide consumers with a central point of contact regarding their questions about Absolute People Screen® and its commitment to the responsible use of personally identifiable information. Absolute People Screen® strives to inform individuals about the nature of the public records, non-public information, and publicly available information that Absolute People Screen® makes available in its information products and services. Absolute People Screen® also strives, whenever practicable, to provide consumers, upon request, with meaningful opportunities to review personally identifiable information we maintain about them. Absolute People Screen® also strives, as appropriate and practicable, to provide opportunities for consumers to dispute and correct information by assisting them in identifying the potential information sources at which corrections should be made. Absolute People Screen® strives to direct individuals to the government and private entities that collect and maintain public records and publicly available information to correct any claimed inaccuracies found in that data, and to direct individuals to consumer reporting agencies where such agency is the source of the information about the individual and where the individual seeks to correct claimed inaccuracies found in that data.
9. ACCOUNTABILITY
Absolute People Screen® supports accountability of information industry standards and practices, responsible and effective federal regulation of the data industry, and legislation governing the practices of all data providers. Absolute People Screen® also supports industry oversight and active engagement with the privacy community. Absolute People Screen® believes that strong privacy and information security protections are vital for an effective and trusted data industry.
10. ONLINE PRIVACY
Absolute People Screen® strives to protect the privacy of personally identifiable information obtained over the Internet and strives to apply our Data Privacy Principles and evolving standards to the online environment.
11. IDENTITY THEFT
Absolute People Screen® strives to prevent the acquisition of information from its products and services for improper purposes, such as identity theft. Absolute People Screen® believes that it is important that individuals who may have had their sensitive personally identifiable information acquired by an unauthorized individual be notified as follows: Where a state or country law requires notice, Absolute People Screen® complies with the law. In places and countries where notification laws do not exist, Absolute People Screen® follows its Information Security Breach Response and Notification Policy, which provides that affected individuals will be notified when sensitive personally identifiable information owned or licensed by Absolute People Screen® is acquired by an unauthorized individual and whenever Absolute People Screen® has a reasonable basis to believe the breach has resulted in, or there is a significant risk that it will result in, identity theft to the consumer to whom the information relates.
12. COMPLIANCE
Privacy: Information about you may only be furnished to third parties that have a permissible purpose. In general, these deal with credit, employment, insurance, rental or banking transactions initiated by you, or where the object is to make a firm offer to you.
Personal Information Disclosure: In connection with its preparation and processing of investigative consumer reports, Absolute People Screen® may transfer personal information about you to our authorized service providers and affiliates. Such transfer will be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
PRIVACY POLICY FOR USE OF THE Absolute People Screen® WEB SITE
Welcome to Absolute People Screen®'s Web site. Please carefully read our privacy policy to understand how we will treat the information you provide while visiting this Web site ("Web site"). This policy may change from time to time. Please check the policy each time you use our Web site for the most current information. This policy only applies to this Absolute People Screen® Web site accessing through www.absolutepeoplescreen.com and www.absolutepeoplescreen.co; some of Absolute People Screen®'s overseas offices may maintain their own privacy policies. Please refer to those Web sites for further information. This Web site is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect any information about children.
Absolute People Screen® is a leading provider of risk mitigation and business solutions. We offer clients a comprehensive portfolio of best-in-class products, services and innovative tools to help them make smarter business decisions and empower them with timely, quality information. In order to market our services effectively and with due regard for the interests of consumers, we recognize that we have an obligation to protect the privacy and confidentiality of personally identifiable information (PII) that we may obtain about individuals through this Web site. Safeguarding the privacy of information, we receive on this Web site is a top priority for consumers, our customers and Absolute People Screen®.
How We Collect and Use Information on Our Web Site
We follow the below privacy principles when you visit this Web site. In general, you can visit this Absolute People Screen® Web site on the World Wide Web without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself. Our Web servers automatically collect the domain names & IP addresses, not the e-mail addresses, of visitors. This information is used to measure the number of visits, average time spent on the site, pages viewed and similar information. Absolute People Screen® uses this information to measure the use of our Web site and to develop ideas to improve the content of our Web site.
I. Personally-identifiable information
This site only collects personally-identifiable information from you if you choose to provide this information to us. Personally-identifiable information collected with your consent may include name, e-mail address, telephone number, user name and password, any response you provide to survey questions, information relating to any orders you place, or any inquires you may make through our web site.
II. Cookies
"Cookies" are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. This site uses first and third-party cookies, however personally identifiable information is not collected through the use of cookies. Cookies allow us to store your User ID during your visit to keep track of reports you have ordered or any updates to those reports. Cookies also help us detect potential fraud or misuse of our system.
While most browsers are set to accept cookies by default, you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you before accepting them. Your browser manufacturer has information on changing the default setting for your specific browser. However, be aware that if you do not accept cookies from this web site, you will not be able to use some of the features of this site.
III. Non-personally-identifiable information
This site also collects non-personally-identifiable information. For example, as you browse this web site, we may collect information about your visit, but not about you personally. Via web server logs, for example, we may monitor statistics such as: the number of people that visit our site, which page(s) are visited on our site, from which domain our visitors come (e.g., aol.com, hotmail.com, etc.), and which browsers people use to visit our site (e.g., Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.). Our web site may use an outsourcing program to assist us in analyzing this data to better tailor our web site.
POLICY CHANGES
We may revise this online privacy policy from time to time. If we make any material changes, we will notify you by posting a prominent announcement on the web site. If we are going to use your personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection, we will notify you via email if an email address has been provided and is available. You will have a choice as to whether or not we use your information in this different manner.
INFORMATION USE AND CONSUMER CHOICE
The information collected by this web site is used only for responding to your inquiries and otherwise corresponding with you, for processing transactions you request, maintaining your account (if you have one), and for the administration, review and/or the improvement the content of our web sites. We do not share, sell, rent or trade PII with third parties for their promotional purposes.
We may contact you in response to your comments or inquiries, as part of the maintenance of your account with us (if you have one), or in order to complete a transaction that you requested.
We may also contact you to inform you of other products or services we think may be of interest to you, but we always offer you an opportunity to opt not to receive such communications.
If you decide that you do not want to receive further e-mails regarding your inquiry from Absolute People Screen®, you can reply to the e-mail we sent or send an email to info@absolutepeoplescreen.com with a request that we not continue to e-mail you. We do not use outside data sources to enrich marketing data obtained online.
ONWARD TRANSFER
We may disclose information you provide to us to third parties in order to complete a transaction that you requested. If, for example, you pay for a transaction using a credit card, disclosing that information for processing purposes is necessary to complete the transaction. In other cases, it may be necessary to disclose information you provide about yourself or third parties in order to obtain the information product you requested. We may also outsource some tasks, including the operation of some website functions, which require access to information you supply online. In such cases, however, we require that the companies acting on our behalf abide by our privacy policy and institute safeguards to protect the confidentiality of your information.
If our company or our assets are acquired by another company, that company will assume responsibility for the personal information collected by us through this Web site and it will assume the rights and obligations regarding the information collected through this Web site, as described in this privacy policy.
Finally, please note that we may disclose personal information when required by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the law or to comply with a legal process.
ACCESS AND CORRECTION
As an information company, we know the importance of accurate data. Therefore, we strive to maintain the accuracy of the information collected through this Web site. We will provide you (whether you are a consumer or a customer) with access to personally-identifiable information you provide through this Web site for as long as we maintain that information in a readily accessible format. Similarly, we permit and encourage you to correct inaccuracies in the information you submit to us through this Web site.
If you wish to access information that you have submitted through this web site or to request the correction of any inaccurate information you have submitted through this site, please use the mechanisms provided by the site, or send an e-mail to info@absolutepeoplescreen.com
The access and correction provisions of this online privacy policy only apply to personally identifiable information collected from you through this web site. Individuals that are interested in information about how to access and/or request the correction of personal information Absolute People Screen® companies maintain about them for potential inclusion in information products and services can contact info@absolutepeoplescreen.com
SECURITY
We take steps to protect against the loss, misuse, or unauthorized alteration of personally-identifiable information collected through this web site and otherwise subject to this policy. We recognize the importance of security for all personally-identifiable information collected by our web site. Once we receive personally-identifiable information, we take steps to protect its security on our systems. In the event we request or transmit sensitive information, such as credit card information or National Identity Numbers through this web site, we use industry standard, secure socket layer (SSL) encryption.
We limit access to personally-identifiable information to those employees who need access in order to carry out their job responsibilities.
When we dispose off personally identifiable information collected through this website, we use procedures to dispose off personal information by means such as shredding documents and erasure of electronic media that information cannot be practicably read or reconstructed.
OTHER WEB SITES
In the online context, this online privacy policy only applies to the Web site(s) identified in the first paragraph of this privacy policy. Our Web site, however, may include links to other Web sites which may be operated by other Absolute People Screen® companies or by third parties. If you visit a Web site not listed above, we recommend that you review the online privacy policy of that Web site to determine how the operator of that Web site will handle personal information collected through that Web site.