The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that a new security enhancement to the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility system program will help combat identity fraud by identifying and deterring fraudulent use of Social Security numbers (SSNs) for employment eligibility verification. The complete announcement from the USCIS is available at http://www.uscis.gov/news/new-security-enhancement-helps-e-verify-deter-employee-fraud.
“We are committed to strengthening E-Verify’s ability to combat identity fraud,” USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas stated in a news report available on the USCIS website. “This new enhancement provides yet another significant safeguard for E-Verify users and could assist employees who have had their Social Security numbers stolen or compromised.”
The new enhancement provides a critical safeguard to the E-Verify system by detecting and preventing potential fraudulent use of SSNs to gain work authorization and enables USCIS to lock a SSN that appears to have been misused and protecting it from further potential misuse. The new enhancement implements proven standards in protecting individual identity.
USCIS may now lock SSNs in E-Verify that appear to have been used fraudulently – just like a credit card company locks a card appearing to have been stolen – by using a combination of algorithms, detection reports, and analysis to identify patterns of fraudulent SSN. This will help deter and prevent fraudulent use of SSNs and lock the number in the E-Verify system.
Any employee attempting to use a locked SSN in E-Verify will receive a “Tentative Nonconfirmation” (TNC) and will have the opportunity to contest the finding at a local Social Security Administration (SSA) field office. If an SSA field officer confirms the employee’s identity matches the SSN, the TNC will be converted to “Employment Authorized” status.
Enrollment in E-Verify has doubled since January 2009, with more than 470,000 participating employers representing more than 1.4 million hiring sites. Approximately 1,500 new employers enroll in E-Verify each week and E-Verify was used to authorize workers in the U.S. more than 25 million times in fiscal year (FY) 2013, a nearly 20 percent increase from FY 2012.
E-Verify is a free Web-based service from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of new employees. A Designated E-Verify Employer Agent such as nationwide accredited background check firm Employment Screening Resources ® (ESR) can help employers with E-Verify compliance. For more information about E-Verify services from ESR, call Toll Free 888.999.4474 or visit http://www.esrcheck.com.
Source: http://www.uscis.gov/news/new-security-enhancement-helps-e-verify-deter-employee-fraud
About Employment Screening Resources® (ESR):
Founded by safe hiring expert Attorney Les Rosen in 1997, Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority®’– provides accurate and actionable information that empowers employers to make informed hiring decisions for the benefit of their organizations, employees, and the public. CEO Rosen literally wrote the book on background checks with “The Safe Hiring Manual” and ESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction held by a small percent of screening firms. Employers choosing ESR know they have selected an agency meeting the highest industry standards. To learn more about ESR, visit http://www.esrcheck.com or call toll free 888.999.4474.
About ESR News: The Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) News blog – ESR News – provides employment screening information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers on a variety of topics including credit reports, criminal records, data privacy, discrimination, E-Verify, jobs reports, legal updates, negligent hiring, workplace violence, and use of search engines and social network sites for background checks. For more information about ESR News or to send comments or questions, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at tahearn@esrcheck.com. To subscribe to the ESR News Blog Feed, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/feed/. To subscribe to the complimentary ESRcheck Report monthly newsletter, please visit http://www.esrcheck.com/Newsletter/.