New Account Verification Answer by John Burnett, BOL Guru Guru Bios
Question: Currently we do a social security verification or a credit report on all new accounts to verify identity/and/or other information. Some reports verify the individual information to be the same as what we have on the person but will not verify that the social security number is actually issued to that person, but gives the date of issue and the state issued in. According to the CIP rules, are we required to verify that the number given is actually issued to that person? If so, do you know where or how to obtain that specific information?
Answer: The Social Security Administration, which issues SSNs, won't verify that a given number matched to a given name. Consequently, any service that claims to be able to do so must be viewed with some skepticism. The CIP regulations don't require that you get a literal match on each of the four items of personal identification information you are required to obtain. They require that you take such steps as you believe necessary to believe you know the true identity of the person. If your bank's CIP requires that you make a literal verification of the TIN your customer gives you, you are setting yourselves up to break your own rules.
BankersOnline is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors. Advertisers and sponsors are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankersOnline FREE to all banking professionals. Support our advertisers and sponsors by clicking through to learn more about their products and services.
Print Friendly!
Email This Article!
Discuss NOW!
