Listen,

I’m in the business and have extensive experience in background investigations (BI’s).  All of the previous contributors to this thread who have suggested the massive amounts of manpower needed to uncover the information in question are absolutely correct.  People are people.  The same way that you like to get a beer after work, or see your girlfriend/boyfriend, is the same way that people think and act in federal law enforcement/intelligence.  Yes, most of us are highly dedicated, but to think that we really care whether or not you bought a dildo is ridiculous.  Furthermore, I don’t know of any agency that reviews your ‘personal purchases.’  The purpose of a credit check is to determine whether the applicant has maintained integrity on their debt.  It is also a determining factor in whether the applicant is susceptible to bribes or coercion because of their financial woes.   

But, this thread of conversation is a very important topic of discussion.  This is because the Bill of Rights needs to be adhered to no matter how high the cost, but please do not create hysteria over a matter in which you have no previous or current experience.   

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sees thousands of applications per day.  Less than twenty percent are granted an interview.  Half of those remaining make to the BI process, and once the BI has begun, it is in the investigator’s interest to adjudicate you (not gain admissions, like in the ridiculous art of polygraph).

Honestly, OPM (any agency) could care less.  Most of the time, personnel managers are just trying to CYA [cover their ass].  They want to make to the end the day the same way that you and I do.  To make the assumption that the board of examiners are a platoon of robocops, tirelessly trying to root out the seeds of moral decadence, is absurd!   

BUT, once you are in the federal system, it is an entirely different situation.   

It is in my summation that most novice ‘message board’ contributors to this website have no previous nor current experience in federal government (at least not the classified regions).  Stop it!  Stop creating paranoia because you can’t back up your assertions because of your lack of experience. 

I believe that the senior members of this important website will concur with my foregoing statements.