E-VERIFY NOW HAS TOOLS TO DETERMINE SOME IDENTITY THEFT

In a November announcement, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the E-Verify system now has the ability to "lock" Social Security numbers that appear to be misused. The agency says it will use a variety of detection systems to identify "patterns of fraudulent SSN use" and then lock that number in the E-Verify system, much like credit card companies lock cards that appear to have been stolen. As a result, employees that use a locked Social Security number will receive a tentative non-confirmation, which they will have to contest with the Social Security Administration.

While this new system will undoubtedly assist in some way in lessening identify fraud, it should be noted that both the imposter and the true owner will have the same Social Security Number, and at least initially the system will lock out both.