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Background Check by Social Security Number

Omkar Phatak
How to run a criminal background check using a social security number? Read to know all about it.
When crime rates are on the rise, one has to be careful while hiring new employees and choosing new tenants. When hiring a person for a responsible job, you want to be sure that he or she is the right person for it. While a past criminal record does not mean that the person is doomed to be a criminal all his life, it helps if you know about it beforehand.

What is a Background Check?

It involves the scanning of a person's past, which includes his financial track record, his employment details, criminal record if any, and other such personal details. When run on employees, it involves the financial track record of the person, credit scores, and credit reports.
Besides this, information about immigration and criminal record verification may also be included. For credit score and credit report information of any individual, the credit bureaus need to be contacted.
Employers may base their decision on the background check of the person, whom they think of hiring. Since this information is of a highly sensitive nature, there are laws regarding its use.
Though you will find many websites offering this service, it is not made available for free. The information is offered by law departments of US states and can be procured for a fixed fee. It is generally run using a social security number.

What Shows Up in it?

A criminal background check will reveal any of the past criminal cases, for which the individual was found guilty. This may include details of the nature of crime, which may range from theft, forgery, to even a sex offense.
The amount of details provided will vary according to state laws. There is no free checking facility as the law departments of a state need to verify the identity of people who are looking up this information.
Credit card payments are generally demanded, for the purpose of this verification. You need to run this check using your social security number as it is the unique identifier that tags all information related to the person.

Running the Check

Many websites offer a criminal record check by social security number. Government websites, belonging to the law departments of different US states and private websites, which provide you the details, after getting it from these government websites. The best source for this check are government websites. Don't fall for free claims of the fake websites check.
You can get hold of the information from online databases provided by the state's law department. While the free check facility is available for law enforcement personnel, other US citizens need to pay a fixed fee to check out the criminal background of any other person. The fees charged for the information and the contents will vary according to state laws.