If you’re looking for a job, this should scare you.

Chances are you’ll have to submit to a background check to be hired. Last week, a government consumer protection agency announced that two large background check companies had failed to take basic steps to ensure the information they reported to employers about job applicants was accurate.

General Information Services and its affiliate, e-Background-checks.com, will pay $10.5 million to consumers who were harmed by the sloppy work and a $2.5 million fine under a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The bureau accused the companies of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In the settlement, the companies did not admit or deny the allegations.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said General Information Services, located in South Carolina, and e-Background-checks.com, located in Texas, provided prospective employers with inaccurate reports that included criminal records attached to the wrong individuals; dismissed and expunged records; and misdemeanors reported as felony convictions.

“These inaccuracies can result in the denial of employment, missed economic opportunity and reputational harm to otherwise qualified applicants,” the bureau said in a news release.

General Information Services did not require employers to submit the middle names of people they requested background checks on, and neither company had a written policy for researching people with common names, the bureau said.

In a statement, General Information Services and e-Background-checks.com said they prepare background reports “using procedures based on industry standards and proprietary improvements to those standards.”

The companies said they believed they complied with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirements to use “reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy.” They said they took the agency’s accusations seriously and agreed to the terms of the settlement.

A study in 2012 by the National Consumer Law Center said criminal background screening companies routinely mix up people’s records; omit critical information; reveal sealed or expunged information; provide misleading information; and misclassify offenses. The industry association criticized that report as misleading and followed up with one of its own that affirmed the accuracy of reports.

If you find that a background report on you contains incorrect or incomplete information, you have rights. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires background check companies to allow you to dispute the information. The company usually has 30 days to investigate and correct the report. If you can’t get results from the company directly, contact a lawyer or the Federal Trade Commission.