USCIS Announces E-Verify Anti-SSN Fraud Effort

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an E-Verify effort to combat identity fraud by identifying and deterring fraudulent use of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) for employment eligibility verification.

USCIS explained that an employer, for example, may enter information into E-Verify that appears valid, such as a matching name, date of birth, and SSN, but that was in fact stolen, borrowed, or purchased from another individual. The agency said the new safeguard enables USCIS to lock an SSN that appears to have been misused.

USCIS said this implements standards that have proven effective in protecting individual identity in other industries. As with a credit card company that can lock a card that appears to have been stolen, USCIS may now lock SSNs in E-Verify that appear to have been used fraudulently. USCIS said it will use a combination of algorithms, detection reports, and analysis to identify patterns of fraudulent SSN use and then lock the number in E-Verify.

If an employee attempts to use a locked SSN, E-Verify will generate a “Tentative Nonconfirmation” (TNC). The employee receiving the TNC may contest the finding at a local Social Security Administration (SSA) field office. If an SSA field officer confirms that the employee’s identity correctly matches the SSN, the TNC will be converted to “Employment Authorized” status in E-Verify.

Employer enrollment in E-Verify has more than 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 each week. In fiscal year (FY) 2013, E-Verify was used to authorize workers in the U.S. more than 25 million times, representing a nearly 20 percent increase from FY 2012.