Employment Screening 101: The Social Security Number Trace-Part 1
by Jason Morris
Today I will begin a twenty part series entitled “Employment Screening 101”. Well, we just launched the employeescreen University initiative so the 101 title is only fitting. This series will explore each of the services offered by employment screening companies and dissect the components and the outcome of that particular search. I have been in the employment screening industry for about 15 years; in 1999 we founded Background Information Services, Inc. which last year became employeescreenIQ. I do believe there has been an evolution in the services consumer reporting agencies provide, however the principles have remained the same; we help clients to confidently make intelligent hiring decisions.
The first element of any background check should be the Social Security Number Trace (SSN Trace). The SSN Trace is an incredibly valuable tool if used properly. Typically a SSN Trace is conducted using one of two sources, a trace using one of the three major credit bureaus; Experian, Transunion and Equifax or a database that aggregates from several different sources the aforementioned bureaus.
Using SSN Trace information, we are able to authenticate that the Social Security Number provided by your applicant is associated with an individual of the same name, that the approximate date of issue range of the SSN equates with your applicant’s birth date, and that the address history associated with that SSN corresponds with the areas of the country where your applicant has lived, worked, attended school, or spent other significant time. The SSN Trace is a crucial component of criminal history research as the address history is the roadmap used to select court jurisdictions that should be researched for criminal records. Additionally, the SSN Trace will provide any alias names that have been associated with that SSN; the same courts should be checked under all relevant and/or unique alias names. Any effective, reliable, and FCRA-compliant criminal background check begins with a SSN Trace.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2, The Countywide Felony and Misdemeanor Search!
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March 28th, 2008 at 7:24 am
[...] we explored the first component of a background check, the Social Security Number Trace (SSN Trace). Today we will explore the second step in an effective background check, the Countywide [...]
April 1st, 2008 at 8:42 am
[...] when developing the criminal component of your employment screening program, begin with a Social Security Number Trace. Identify all the places the subject has lived, worked and attended school and all the names they [...]
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:35 am
[...] this person’s out-of-state warrants and other possible criminal activity in his past by running a Social Security Number Trace, obtaining his address history, and running a criminal records check in every county he has lived [...]
June 4th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
[...] on what constitutes a good background check on a employee. You cannot go wrong with an address history search coupled with a comprehensive criminal records check. Throw a credit report into the mix if the [...]