Six Common Misconceptions About Digital Identity Verification in the US

Many HR professionals believe that identity checks are included as part of a routine background check. 

Why is this a common misconception? One of the main reasons may be that several background screening tools and services — such as Social Security Number (SSN) Trace and Consent-Based Social Security Number Verification (CBSV) — are often thought of as identity checks and interchangeable with a standard background check.  

In addition, with the rise of deepfake and AI technologies, especially in a more remote-first workplace, identity fraud is now emerging from within organizations, through seemingly qualified job candidates during the hiring process.  

Let’s debunk the most common misconceptions about candidate identity solutions, why digital identity is essential, and detail the differences between the types of screening that contribute to these misconceptions.  

The end goal? First Advantage strives to assist your hiring solutions by prioritizing identity at multiple touchpoints of the hiring journey. As a result, you’ll save time, resources, costs, and strengthen your trust with your candidates. 

Myth #1. A Social Security Number (SSN) Trace Is an Identity Verification Tool  

Contrary to popular belief, an SSN Trace does not verify candidate identity. Instead, an SSN Trace provides a listing of basic information from the credit bureaus that has been associated with a submitted social security number. In many cases, this service is used as a locator tool for identifying residential addresses associated with the SSN, or it may also include additional names that are associated with the SSN in the credit bureau files. This serves as a strategy to determine additional jurisdictions and names to search for possible criminal records from the addresses and names provided by the candidate. For example, while a candidate may report living at only one address over the past five years, an SSN Trace (using the SSN provided by the candidate) may reveal additional residential addresses associated with that SSN. These can include even brief or temporary residences, which can be used as locations to search for potential criminal records. 

To summarize, an SSN Trace is not a digital identity tool by itself, but it can be used to see if the SSN has any other “flags” associated with it, such having been issued before the DOB provided by the candidate. However, the SSN trace alone can’t confirm or verify that the candidate is really the person they claim to be.  

Myth #2. Digital Identity Verification Is Included in a Background Check  

Confirming identity is not an automatic component of a background check. Because of this, many US companies are now adopting digital identity solutions to check identity and to capture biographic data from government-issued ID documents, before the background check even begins. 

Leveraging identity solutions that include capturing biographic data from government IDs from the start means you will be alerted if there are any issues or concerns around the candidate’s ID documents.  

Myth #3. Form I-9/E-Verify Checks Are Enough to Verify Identity  

At the most basic level, identity solutions assist customers in determining whether the information submitted may have potential discrepancies that suggest either an effort of identity fraud or a manual data entry error on their biographical information. Unfortunately, for many organizations, I-9 and E-Verify checks are the only versions of identity verification that takes place. Since an I-9 Form is not completed and submitted until the employer is onboarding a new employee, this step is too late in the hiring process to help mitigate employee fraud. 

Making matters worse, during the I-9 Form process, it’s unlikely that the viewed identity document is cross-checked against the identity information (PII) from the background check. There have also been several cases where the person going through the interview process is not the same person who shows up for day one on the job, but this unfortunately isn’t discovered until much later. Further, the HR professional checking the ID verification and completing the I-9 Form may not be trained to check identity documents. 

Myth #4. A Consent-Based Social Security Number Verification (CBSV) Proves That a Candidate’s SSN Is Truly Theirs  

Another myth is that a CBSV can confirm whether a candidate owns their provided SSN. To clarify, a CBSV checks the name and Social Security number provided by the candidate against Social Security Administration (SSA) records. This confirms that the candidate’s name and the SSN associated with it were issued by the SSA. It does this by matching the provided information (name, SSN, date of birth, and gender) against SSA’s records. The SSA can also indicate if the individual is deceased, according to SSA records. 

Myth #5. Digital Identity Is Unnecessary for Employers 

A digital identity check prior to employment screening is both common and a requirement in a number of countries. Having accurate information about the candidate before proceeding with the background check is a logical first step. If the candidate’s information is either unintentionally submitted with inaccurate data such as DOB or SSN, or if the information is intentionally submitted as part of an identity fraud effort, it will impact the downstream processes including but not limited to a background check report. 

In today’s ever-changing digital landscape, traditional identity methods alone — such as the visual inspection ID Document Review — may no longer be effective enough to accurately confirm someone’s identity. In fact, a large-scale cybercrime operation based in North Korea recently made headlines. Using fake names, North Korean IT workers applied for remote jobs in the US, using the funds obtained when hired to help bankroll the North Korean government. An advisory from the US Treasury and FBI noted that thousands of such workers are dispatched across the world to help finance North Korea’s weapons program.  

That’s why, to successfully confirm candidates’ identity, employers should first require several strong identity solutions. An effective and seamless way to do this is to partner with a trusted background screening provider skilled in this area. For example, First Advantage operates on a global scale but with significant regional expertise. We use a multi-layered digital identity approach with methods outlined below to help flag and mitigate the most sophisticated fraud — and provide customers with the optimal balance of risk mitigation and convenience based on access and authority levels of job roles: 

• ID Document Review: Scan, verify, and parse document images using technology to extract content, leveraging a proprietary database of rules and artificial intelligence (AI) to flag potential counterfeiting efforts. 
• Telecom and Device: Includes a unique combination of telecom and device flags and factors regarding a candidate’s identity, including device location, IP address, identity risk score, and more.  
• Liveness Detection with Facial Recognition & Biometric Matching: Liveness detection and advanced machine learning technologies to match a government identity document to the candidate’s selfie image. 
• Biographic Data: Check on a candidate’s biographic information, such as name, address, SSN, and other identifying information against credit bureau records with the SSN Trace products. 

Myth #6. Adding Digital Identity During Hiring Causes Delays and Negatively Impacts the Candidate Experience 

Adding digital identity checks before a background check does not cause hiring delays. In fact, checking identity upfront provides a seamless candidate experience by reducing friction during the hiring process. Here’s how: 

• Candidate data from the digital identity process automatically feeds into the background check, reducing delays due to misinformation. 
• Minimizing the amount of manual data collection accelerates the hiring process, deterring candidate drop-off and allowing identity to be completed remotely. 
• Digital identity is fast and easy. Candidate identity results are rendered in an average of 90 seconds or less.  

Since today’s changing world requires new, adaptable ways of screening, while the speed of hiring remains a top priority among employers, it’s easier than you may think to reduce complexity and delays. 

Closing Thoughts 

SSN Trace and CBSV are valuable tools when used for their intended purposes in the background screening process, but it’s imperative for organizations to understand their limitations and insufficiency regarding identity. Incorporating a digital identity solution step early in your hiring process before Form I-9/E-Verify allows you to conduct a more thorough, seamless search for your background checks. This in turn helps you to mitigate against rising (and more sophisticated) risks of identity fraud in a global workforce.  

First Advantage offers a robust, end-to-end employment screening portfolio — including identity first solutions, background screening, and post-hire services — to help companies with their overall risk and workplace safety programs for their employees, customers, and communities.  

Learn more about First Advantage’s multi-layered digital identity solutions that help mitigate risk and potentially reduce costs using a combination of AI and machine learning technology and proprietary data.