RED HERRING -- Jan 12 -- The money came from Sevin Rosen Funds and Rho Capital Partners. Verified Person has now raised a total of $14.5 million since it was founded two and a half years ago. Tal Moise seeded the New York-based company alongside John Scully, former CEO of Apple Computer and Pepsi and founded Verified Person to help restore confidence in Internet transactions. He wanted to develop a way for people to prove they were who they said they were by pointing to a third party. Just as VeriSign authenticates web sites, Mr. Moise thought he might be able to authenticate people. Verified Person found its first customer in the U.S. Department of Transportation. The department needed a way to ensure it wasn't hiring criminals to handle baggage inside airports. The company sells a service called VP ID, which will ensure that someone you meet on the Internet doesn't have a history of violence. It checks the data volunteered on a dating site against its own records and gives an age, marital status, and safety synopsis.
Mark Brooks: I list providers of background checks on the OPW side bar. Trufina is also worth a look in.
