Comment by aquateen
16 years ago
Better to admit to it than get caught lying. Also any financial/credit problems in history will probably ruin your chances (more susceptible to blackmail I was told).
I was an ordinary programmer in the Air Force, however I obtained a top secret clearance. Basically ticked "no" to all the boxes, however one of my friends and probably a few of my past teachers were interviewed. Someone once told me his interviewer knew he had thrown a dead squirrel at a girl in kindergarten.
> Also any financial/credit problems in history will probably ruin your chances (more susceptible to blackmail I was told).
I don't get that. Why blackmail? I would assume that they feel people with financial issues are more susceptible to bribes to make their financial woes go away. Blackmail is just odd though. I wouldn't necessarily broadcast my financial woes to the world, but "Steal some Top Secret documents or we'll tell the world that you're in massive debt" wouldn't have any leverage with me (and I assume this is the same for most people).
The world knowing that you're in debt is probably too small of a carrot to have someone take the risk of leaking documents/information.
You just answered your own question. Someone that has had money problems is more susceptible to taking bribes, and once they've taken a bribe, they are now more susceptible to blackmail. As a question along the lines of "have you ever taken a bribe?" is unlikely to get answered honestly, debt problems are used as a proxy.
> Better to admit to it than get caught lying
Sorry; it was a lie, I was replying to the poster above who said it might be suspicious to admit to nothing, even if it is true.
My understanding is that credit problems are the #1 reason for denying clearance. In fact, as long as you check all the 'No' boxes and aren't on anything top secret, credit issues are about the only thing that will sink you.