In the United States, an SSN or Social Security Number is one of the most basic pieces of information provided to a citizen. This information is given to those who become citizens of the country to use as a type of identification. It is essential that individuals safeguard this information to protect their identity as well as their overall financial well-being. However, there is another side to the coin. An employer may wish to validate that the number given by an employee is actually accurate. To do so, an SSN lookup service may be used. This could provide information about the person for various needs.

SSN lookups can provide a range of details about a person but it is important to know that not all personally identifiable information is available through these services. The most important and most simplistic type of SSN lookup is available through the Social Security Administration, the agency that issues and maintains this information. Those who are employers of verified businesses are able to put in the Social Security number they have for an individual and the system will check to ensure the data matches based on what is collected and reported. There are limits to how many checks can be run at one time. More so, this works as a verification tool and not one that allows for anyone to gather information that could otherwise be very sensitive.

There are other SSN lookups available as well. Some of these are very accurate. The goal is to punch in the Social Security Number of a known person and to retrieve confirmation of the name or other identifying information. In some situations, it may be possible to use these tools to look up this number of another person but this is not often considered a good thing to do because, again, this is a very closely guarded number.

Some people may wish to use these tools to learn more about an individual or to file legal requirements after a person has died. It is possible to use SSN lookups for this reason. Keep in mind that there are some free services that offer basic information while others are paid services. In all situations, the accuracy of the information is critical and it can often be very hard to verify this information. For some people, this information can be very important to gather.

The use of SSN lookups may be beneficial in many cases, including for genealogy records or searches. However, these numbers have not been in place long, and even then, the records kept that include the name, address and other identifying information about the individual are even more scarce. This tool is often best used as a verification tool rather than a tool for learning about someone after death. The information contained in these records, when deemed to come from an accurate resource such as the government, is considered legally binding and accurate. However, gathering information about the person’s SSN is often the hardest part and the first step.