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Safer Internet Day is a reminder that building a safer internet is also about building a better internet, one where everyone is empowered to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically, and creatively.
At Checkr, that idea is deeply aligned with our mission to power safe and fair decisions. And it’s why we're expanding our social impact strategy to invest not only in fairness, but also in safety.
Because stronger communities require both.
Fairness + safety = stronger communities
For years, Checkr has been a leader in fair chance hiring, advancing access to employment for justice-impacted individuals. That commitment remains foundational to our impact strategy.
Stronger communities require both fairness and safety working together. Fairness expands access to economic opportunity. Safety protects individuals and platforms from fraud, exploitation, and harm. These aren't separate issues—they're interdependent drivers of community stability that reduce risk and create lasting change.
From a fairness perspective, we will continue our commitment to fair chance hiring, a true intersection of fairness and safety. Providing access to jobs and economic mobility reduces negative behaviors and recidivism, fostering safer, more productive communities.
Why we’re expanding our impact into safety
Today, trust and safety challenges are increasingly intertwined with how people live, work, and connect. Fraud, scams, and exploitation can cause real-world harm financially, emotionally, and physically. And some groups face disproportionate risk online, including youth, seniors, and women.
In shaping this next chapter, we consulted stakeholders across Checkr and within our partner community to identify where we can have the most authentic impact that is closely aligned with our strengths, our products, and the real-world trust challenges our customers and communities face.
Our safety focus centers on two areas:
- Preventing fraud, scams, and exploitation
These threats are rapidly evolving, spanning impersonation schemes, organized fraud rings, and exploitation that can move between online and offline environments. We’re prioritizing technology-first efforts and coordinated responses to large-scale fraud. - Protecting vulnerable groups online
Digital spaces should be places of connection and opportunity, not harm. We’re focused on solutions that help protect vulnerable populations and reduce online threats at scale, especially through digital safety education and technology-enabled approaches.
Introducing our Checkr.org safety grantees
Checkr.org’s mission is to build stronger communities by advancing fairness and safety through fair chance hiring and by protecting people from fraud, abuse, and exploitation.
On Safer Internet Day, we’re proud to recognize the organizations we’re supporting through Checkr.org that are helping build safer digital ecosystems and protect people from harm.
Stop Scams Alliance
Started by a former CIA agent whose mother was scammed in 2023, Stop Scams Alliance advances scam prevention through public-private partnerships. They are focused on stopping scams at the source, before they can reach the consumer. Checkr.org is supporting their Gallup poll to help measure the magnitude of scams on the impact on Americans. Ken Westbrook, CEO and founder, shared that the current data is lacking an accurate view of the issue, and in order to properly mount defenses, we need to understand the full scale of the impacts. We’re proud to support this work alongside a coalition that includes organizations like JPMorgan Chase, Match Group, and Meta.
National Elder Fraud Coordination Center (NEFCC)
Led by a former FBI agent who noticed the rapid expansion of elder fraud, NEFCC collaborates across sectors to combat elder fraud by aggregating and analyzing data from multiple entities to identify large instances of fraud happening on digital platforms. Their work brings together major companies, including Walmart, Amazon, Google, and Meta, and aligns strongly with our belief in data-driven approaches to tackle widespread issues.
Thorn
Thorn develops AI technology used by law enforcement and tech companies to remove child sexual abuse material and identify online threats to children. Their work combines technology and research to detect exploitative content and child risks at scale, an essential part of protecting minors online and raising awareness of online child exploitation. This aligns strongly with our desire to keep vulnerable populations safe online.
These grantees represent the kind of practical, cross-sector, measurable work we want to accelerate: protecting people, technology-driven, and helping make the internet and our communities safer.
What’s next?
We have a number of new initiatives that we are working on that we’re excited to share later this year. We’re committed to doing our part by investing in safety initiatives that protect people from fraud, exploitation, and harm, and by continuing to expand access to opportunity through fair chance hiring and workforce development that accelerates economic mobility.
Because when safety and fairness move forward together, communities get stronger.
