In the late 80’s someone used my SSN when they were pulled over by police. It turns out that the guy had an extensive criminal record. Months later I was ordered to appear in court - which I did - and I explained to the judge that the person they were seeking was not me. It was ultimately cleared up - or so I thought. Years later while working for a customs house broker, they called me into customs and asked why my SSN was associated with criminal “hits”, that I had apparently lied to them about my record. I explained to them what had happened, that many of the crimes - such as car jacking and armed robbery - were committed when I was four or five years old, and that my SSN was used by an older person posing as me. Long story short, they ran my prints and every thing turned out OK. The problem is, not all employers run prints. Many just use your SSN to do a criminal background check. I look back now and wonder just how many employment opportunities I’ve missed out on because they thought I had a criminal record. What can I do to fix this problem once and for all?
Your first step is to inquire what service your employer used to obtain the criminal records. Since you were at the customs house, you may have been screened by the FBI. At the time you “corrected: the errors, you did not specifically ask that your record be corrected. You simply used your prints to verify the mistake.
If it is an FBI record, then their local office will help you walk through the process. They have a procedure to verify, notify, and correct errors in their criminal records system.
If the error resulted from a credit reporting bureau, then the SSN was the only record to blame. They also have a process. Although you will only know if you are told how your employer came up with the erroneous information. First, ask where it came from.