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How to Take a Closer Look at Your Social Security Number

Background
Despite the growing trend to restrict the use of an individual's Social Security number (SSN) in the public sphere, the SSN remains a vital element of today's background screening process. 

SSNs were first issued in November 1936 as part of the Social Security Act that was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt the previous year. The numbers were implemented to track participation in the new Social Security program, which was designed to pay retired workers age 65 and older a continuing income after retirement. From these beginnings, SSNs have evolved into important identifiers used to verify an individual's identity in many aspects of daily life, including for tax purposes, for financial applications and for participation in other government and private programs.

From a background screening perspective, the SSN can provide valuable information about an applicant's identity; for instance, the SSN unlocks an applicant's full residential history, and is used to confirm that records found actually belong to the individual in question. In recent years, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) has implemented significant changes to the process of assigning SSNs to individuals. 

In June 2011, the SSA announced that it would begin randomly issuing all new SSNs in response to an increased prevalence of SSN fraud and misuse, and to assure that there are enough unique SSNs available for future generations. This white paper will familiarize employers with the structure of the SSN; describe the recent changes to the SSN assignment process; clarify the types of SSN checks available to employers and detail the levels of information those checks provide; and explore recent trends in how SSNs may be used in the employment process.

Structure of an SSN Assigned Before June 25, 2011

SSNs assigned prior to June 25, 2011, are comprised of three separate groups of numbers, each of which has a distinctive identifying role.

Area Numbers — The first set of three digits, or "area numbers," indicates the state or territory where the SSN was issued. Each state and territory was assigned unique numbers, with the exception of the area numbers 000, 666 and 900–999, which were never used.

For example, in Kansas, the assigned area numbers were 509–515. For Vermont, the assigned area numbers were 008–009. Familiarity with these assigned numbers can help employers spot a potential "red flag" if, on the job application, the applicant's reported state of birth does not match the area number of the SSN.

Group Numbers — The second set of two digits, or "group numbers," breaks down the SSNs for a given state into additional categories. While a group number may theoretically be any two-digit number from 01 to 99, only certain combinations were issued in each state. 

The group number is an important element in determining the SSN's validity, because the SSA employed unique "odd-even-odd-even" patterns and "group rollover rules" for assigning these numbers in each state. Familiarity with the patterns established for key states can again help employers recognize possible inaccuracies.

Serial Numbers — The third set of four digits, or "serial numbers," runs consecutively from 0001 through 9999 for each group designation and simply shows the SSN's numerical position within a group. Any combination of numbers, except 0000, is potentially valid.

SSN Assignment: Understanding SSN Randomization

Two impetuses led the SSA to change its process of assigning SSNs: to help protect the integrity of the SSN by making numbers less susceptible to theft and fraud, and to ensure that the pool of new nine-digit SSNs remains available for many more years.

In light of the growing sophistication of identity theft, the randomization process helps to protect the integrity of SSNs against fraud, misuse and theft. The previous issuance method was linked to an individual's place and date of birth/issuance; randomization is intended to protect individuals by making it more difficult to reconstruct an SSN using public information.

The previous assignment process also limited how many SSNs were available in each state. Although the SSA does recognize that all available number combinations eventually will be exhausted, the new process allows for an increased supply of unique nine-digit combinations.

SSN randomization affects adults who are new U.S. citizens, or who for other reasons obtained or changed an SSN as an adult1. Circumstances that may warrant a new SSN include: sequential numbers assigned to members of the same family are causing problems; more than one person is using the same number; an individual has religious or cultural objections to certain numbers or digits in the original number; a victim of identity theft continues to be disadvantaged by using the original number; or an individual is in a situation of harassment, abuse or life endangerment (including domestic violence).

Structure of an SSN Assigned After June 25, 2011

Area Numbers — Randomization eliminated the geographical significance of the area number (the first three digits of the SSN). However, randomized SSNs still prohibit the use of area numbers 000, 666 and 900–999.

Group Numbers — These two-digit number combinations are now entirely randomized, to include all number combinations except for 00. The significance of the highest group number (the fourth and fifth digits of the SSN) for validation purposes was eliminated.

Serial Numbers — As in the previous assignment process, any combination of four digits, except 0000, is potentially valid.

SSN Checks for Employment Purposes

There are several ways to validate and verify an individual's SSN, but not all can be used for background screening purposes.

For example, the SSA's Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) can only be used to verify the SSN of a current or former employee for the purpose of completing an Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement). And E-Verify, the free Internet-based system that compares information on a Form I-9 to Department of Homeland Security and SSA databases, can only be used to verify the employment eligibility of new
hires — not applicants.

To assist employers in the background screening process, Truescreen offers the following three options that can be performed on a pre-hire basis for checking SSN information.

1. Truescreen SSN Validation Check

SSN validation simply indicates whether the SSN is valid. It does not verify that the SSN truly belongs to the subject.

A. SSN Validation on SSNs Assigned Before June 25, 2011

SSN validation includes the results of five separate checks:

1. STATE ISSUED: Indicates in what state the SSN was issued.2

2. DATE ISSUED: Indicates a date range for issuance of the SSN.

3. DOB SCAN: Compares the subject's date of birth to the SSN's date of issue to ensure the number was issued after the subject was born.3

4. DEATH INDEX: Searches the SSA's Death Index to determine if the SSN holder has been reported as deceased. Also searches numerous state agencies for death records.

5. VALID SSN: Analyzes the SSN against the algorithm used bB. SSN Validation on SSNs Assigned After June 25, 2011

As a result of randomization, Truescreen's validation process includes only a death index search for all SSNs issued after June 25, 2011. Randomized SSNs cannot be validated against the other criteria listed above due to the nature of the randomization process.

2. Truescreen SSN Verification Service

3. SSA Consent Based Social Security Number Verification Service (CBSV)

Recent Trends: SSNs in the Employment Process

Recent trends have moved toward limiting the disclosure of SSNs in the public sphere.

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