Most Common Types of SSN Background Checks

Driving Record – A driving record background check provides the status of a person’s driver’s license and indicates any driving offenses, such as reckless driving or DUIs. This is an essential background check for parents hiring a nanny to care for their child and for businesses where a job applicant’s daily duties involve operating any type of machinery or driving a vehicle.

Once you have a verified social security number, you can conduct
deeper searches into a person’s background to confirm that
information provided to you by the individual is accurate.

Tenant Screening – This type of background check provides landlords with comprehensive information, including previous addresses and creditworthiness, of potential tenant applicants. With this information, a landlord or rental agency has a better idea of the character of the person they are renting to and can protect their investment, as well as other tenants or neighborhood residents, from individuals with risky behavior or a criminal record. *This is not provided by ssnsearch.us.com. Google it for other services.

Education Verification – An education verification background check allows employers to cross-reference information in a social security number verification report with what was provided in the applicant’s resume. In particular, an education verification background check verifies that information regarding education background, professional licenses and other related credentials provided by the applicant is legitimate.

Criminal Records – In instances when a job requires a clean criminal history, a criminal records background check is in order. It searches various public police and court databases for any past misdemeanor or felony convictions linked to the person’s name and social security number. Although a criminal records background search protects your company legally and ensures a safe workplace, it is important that companies follow the law and do not discriminate from hiring job applicants if information contained in their criminal record has no bearing on their job responsibilities.

Credit Checks – This allows employers or landlords to check an applicant’s credit history. This type of SSN background check, which includes an individual’s payment history, collections activity, liens and bankruptcies, is particularly helpful for companies where employees work with money or in financial positions. *This is not provided by ssnsearch.us.com. Google it for other services

Whether you are personally hiring a professional for your home or vetting applicants for a business, the various types of SSN background checks will assist you in choosing the best candidate for the position.

Although identity theft is ranked among the fastest growing crimes in theU.S., it is also one that can be prevented if consumers take proactive steps to protect their personal information. One of the most crucial pieces of personal identifying information that needs to be well protected and its usage monitored frequently for fraudulent use is a person’s social security number.

How Identity Thieves Use a Social Security Number

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, identity thieves can use your stolen social security number in a wide range of ways, with the most common being:

• Applying for credit cards in your name. The thieves then make purchases up to the credit limit on the cards and then never pay the bills, thus ruining your good credit and leaving you with collection calls and the inability to obtain credit.
• Renting an apartment based on your personal and credit history.
• Applying for government benefits.
• Opening utility accounts, such as telephone, cell phone, electric, gas, or cable TV based on your credit information.
• Applying for a job, causing you serious tax issues because the employer reports the earned income of the identity thief to the IRS under your social security number. When you file your annual tax return, IRS records show more income than what you reported, making it look like you did not disclose all your earned income.
• Filing a tax return in your name to get a refund. If the identity thief files before you, when you submit your tax return, IRS records would show you already filed and will not accept a second return. As a result, you lose out on any tax refund owed to you.

Instances When SSN Verification Should Be Done

Social security number (SSN) verification is a valid means for discovering identity theft before any damage is done or limiting any further damage if identity theft did occur. In being proactive with a social security number verification search, you can monitor current and past activities in which your social security number was used and determine whether any unauthorized action took place. A SSN verification is particularly useful in the following instances:

• If your wallet was stolen.
• If you’re unable to find your social security card.
• If documents displaying your social security number are lost, misplaced, or not properly shredded when discarded.
• You entered your social security number on an unsecured Internet site.
• Your social security number was compromised at a government agency, employer, school, organization, or company that stored this information.
• You unknowingly gave out your social security number to someone over the phone or in an email because you thought the person legitimately worked for an institution or agency that has your records.

Being Proactive With SSN Verification

The best precaution to identity theft is to conduct SSN verifications frequently. A social security number background search provides you with key information that will enable you to:

• Validate that only your name is linked to your social security number. If the results of your SSN validation shows other names associated with your social security number, you need to investigate further to determine whether it is a clerical error or identity theft.
• Confirm that no other addresses, except your current and past residences, are associated with your social security number.
• Recognize any fraudulent or unauthorized use of your social security number.

If your SSN verification search uncovers identity theft, you should immediately file an identity theft report with your local police department and then file an ID Theft Complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission. You will also need to obtain copies of your credit reports from the three consumer credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – and notify all your creditors and financial institutions.

The effects of identity theft can be long-lasting, but you can take proactive steps to ensure that you do not become the next victim. A social security number verification is a good first step towards identity theft prevention.

SSN Searches Defined

The types of searches that involve social security numbers can be broken down into four types. They are:

SSN Verification Search – A social security number verification search, also known as a social security number trace, uses both public and private databases to verify that a social security number matches the name provided. A SSN verification search or SSN trace provides information on when the social security number was issued and in which state, the full name and date of birth of the person to whom it is registered, whether that person has died, and if more than one person is using the same social security number. The comprehensive search also provides aliases or maiden names associated with the social security number, current and past addresses and military records. Because a SSN verification search uses public and private databases, you can also expect to receive information pertaining to criminal records, liens and court records.

SSN Validation Search – A social security number validation search simply authenticates or validates a social security number by comparing it with the records of the U.S. Social Security Administration. It simply provides the full name associated with the social security number.

Background Check with SSN – A background check conducted with a social security number provides a report on a person’s history compiled from public records that contain the social security number. A SSN background check confirms that the social security number matches the person’s name and furnishes former addresses that can be used to conduct further searches of public records.

People Search with SSN – A people search with a social security number provides basic details about a person, such as address, date of birth, phone number and household members, so additional searches can be performed in public databases.

Costs Related To SSN Search Types

As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for,” and this is very true of SSN searches. Numerous websites offer social security number verification searches for free, but what you receive is an “attempt” to verify the entered social security number by using only public databases. For security reasons, very few social security numbers are available through public databases and those that are generally belong to deceased individuals. If you read the small print of these free SSN verification searches, you’ll find a statement that the search will check death records for the social security number you’ve entered.

If you want current information linked to a social security number, you will need to pay a fee. Prices among SSN search websites offering such services vary, depending on the type of search you are conducting. Social security verification searches, as well as background checks with social security numbers and people searches with social security numbers, typically cost between $15 and $45. The cost for social security validation searches run about $10 using other services.

When paying for any type of social security number search, it’s important to choose an online service that offers a money-back guarantee if the search fails to turn up any results. This guarantee should refund the full amount you paid for the search if no information is found.

Although identity theft is ranked among the fastest growing crimes in theU.S., it is also one that can be prevented if consumers take proactive steps to protect their personal information. One of the most crucial pieces of personal identifying information that needs to be well protected and its usage monitored frequently for fraudulent use is a person’s social security number.

How Identity Thieves Use a Social Security Number

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, identity thieves can use your stolen social security number in a wide range of ways, with the most common being:

• Applying for credit cards in your name. The thieves then make purchases up to the credit limit on the cards and then never pay the bills, thus ruining your good credit and leaving you with collection calls and the inability to obtain credit.
• Renting an apartment based on your personal and credit history.
• Applying for government benefits.
• Opening utility accounts, such as telephone, cell phone, electric, gas, or cable TV based on your credit information.
• Applying for a job, causing you serious tax issues because the employer reports the earned income of the identity thief to the IRS under your social security number. When you file your annual tax return, IRS records show more income than what you reported, making it look like you did not disclose all your earned income.
• Filing a tax return in your name to get a refund. If the identity thief files before you, when you submit your tax return, IRS records would show you already filed and will not accept a second return. As a result, you lose out on any tax refund owed to you.

Instances When SSN Verification Should Be Done

Social security number (SSN) verification is a valid means for discovering identity theft before any damage is done or limiting any further damage if identity theft did occur. In being proactive with a social security number verification search, you can monitor current and past activities in which your social security number was used and determine whether any unauthorized action took place. A SSN verification is particularly useful in the following instances:

• If your wallet was stolen.
• If you’re unable to find your social security card.
• If documents displaying your social security number are lost, misplaced, or not properly shredded when discarded.
• You entered your social security number on an unsecured Internet site.
• Your social security number was compromised at a government agency, employer, school, organization, or company that stored this information.
• You unknowingly gave out your social security number to someone over the phone or in an email because you thought the person legitimately worked for an institution or agency that has your records.

Being Proactive With SSN Verification

The best precaution to identity theft is to conduct SSN verifications frequently. A social security number background search provides you with key information that will enable you to:

• Validate that only your name is linked to your social security number. If the results of your SSN validation shows other names associated with your social security number, you need to investigate further to determine whether it is a clerical error or identity theft.
• Confirm that no other addresses, except your current and past residences, are associated with your social security number.
• Recognize any fraudulent or unauthorized use of your social security number.

If your SSN verification search uncovers identity theft, you should immediately file an identity theft report with your local police department and then file an ID Theft Complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission. You will also need to obtain copies of your credit reports from the three consumer credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – and notify all your creditors and financial institutions.

The effects of identity theft can be long-lasting, but you can take proactive steps to ensure that you do not become the next victim. A social security number verification is a good first step towards identity theft prevention.