Submitted by KingOfTheP4s t3_11o2o5i in LifeProTips
For a very long time, it has been standard procedure for many people to inflate your current salary when interviewing for a new job. However, those days are in the past and potential employers have access to how much you made from every paycheck at almost every job you've worked.
This is all because of "employment reporting" services, the most common being The Work Number by Equifax.
They gather data from every paycheck you've ever received and hold information on your employer that you worked for, your job title, when you were hired, when you were fired, where you were listed as living when you worked there, your salary, your hourly rate, your raises, how much overtime you choose to work, bonuses, commissions, pensions, severance, tips, vacation. Basically everything.
You have no leverage to inflate your salary anymore, companies know exactly what your numbers are going in to the interview.
If you don't believe me, you can check it for yourself. Because this information is subject to the Fair Credit Report Act, you are allowed to request a free annual disclosure of your file from the The Work Number (or whatever other reporting agencies) that lists every single thing they know about you, and it is shocking how much employment data they have on you.
If anyone is is interested, you can get your disclosure straight from their website: https://theworknumber.com/resource/-/resource/request-form-employment-data-report
EDIT: To answer a common question, this applies to the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and India. More western countries will likely be added in the near future.