Your personal information is bought and sold daily by companies across the country. It's a way for potential employers to find details about your personal life.

"There's trade in your information that's going on from company to company and from companies to the federal government," said Allison Wall, who works for Georgia Watch, a group that works to protect consumers.

And it's detailed information about nearly every person in this country.

"This is always a shock for citizens to learn," Wall said.

"It is insurance, employment, volunteer screening, residence screening," said Katherine Bryant, who works for ChoicePoint, a company that collects your personal information and then sells it to potential employers.

The company reportedly has more than 17 billion records that it sells to nearly 100,000 clients.

"A typical background check would have past employment, past education, probably criminal," Bryant said.

That's right, in just seconds a potential employer could know details that could keep you from getting a job or even renting an apartment.

Aside from criminal records, background checks could include a credit report and show companies if you've filed for bankruptcy or if there's litigation pending against you.

"We have a database that is made up of past claim history and we get that from insurance companies, they actually contribute to our database," Bryant said.

You can file to get a free personal file disclosure with ChoicePoint for free.

If you want to find out your information, all you do is fill out some paperwork and then submit copies of IDs like your license.

It's free!