Almost all employers run a social security background check as part of the pre employment screening process. The social security background check is to ensure that the prospective employee has not lied about his part criminal history or identity.

Pre employment screening is a part of the employment process that most businesses take very seriously. Analysis reveals that up to 40 per cent of resumes contain false information. It is to insure that the applicant has been truthful in the application about himself or herself that a pre-employment social security background check is conducted.

Usually social security background checks are run as part of the pre employment screening process. It is only one tool that employers use to insure that the applicants have not lied in the application. Most pre employment screenings will include the applicants driving records, criminal records, credit reports and details of property ownership.

The social security background checks include reports derived from credit bureau records. The sources of information for the social security background checks include application submitted for utilities such as telephone, electricity, credit cards and checks for loans and qualification for rental agreements.

The big advantage with social security background checks is that the employer can go back seven years into the applicant's life. This makes it more difficult for applicants to hide anything, especially criminal history.

Using social security background checks, employers can authenticate the social security number provided by the applicant as well as the address history provided by the applicant. The Social security background check can authenticate whether the applicant lived and attended school in the area that he or she has listed in the resume.

Social Security background checks can also be used to provide a red flag when orchestrating an interview with a potential candidate. Any employer will think twice before employing an individual who has lied about his or her social security number.

A social security background check will also bring to light whether the applicant has only one name or any alias as well as if there is any criminal history related with both names. While criminal history background checks will check for the criminal history of an applicant it may not bring to light the presence of an alias and will not check criminal history related to the other name.

Social security background checks are built by information provided by individuals to utility companies, credit card companies, banks and a host of other private entities. This information is then reported to the three major credit bureaus, Trans-Union, Experian (formerly TRW) and CSC/Equifax. They then record this history along with the social security number in the top portion or "header" of credit reports. Unlike the full credit report itself, this information is made freely available and the subject is never notified that this information has been accessed. It is this data that is accessed when social security background checks are conducted.