Automated sanctions screening tools operate by comparing customer data against official sanctions lists. The most crucial data elements for achieving an accurate match and minimizing false positives are the customer's full name (the primary identifier), date of birth, and a unique government-issued identification number (e.g., passport or national ID). These specific data points are standard fields on major sanctions lists, such as the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, and are essential for distinguishing the customer from other individuals who may have similar names.

B. Location: While critical for assessing geographic sanctions risk, location can be less precise for identifying a specific individual compared to a unique ID number or date of birth.

D. Account number: This is an internal identifier created by the financial institution; it does not appear on external sanctions lists and is not used for initial screening.

E. Employer of an existing customer: The employer is a secondary attribute of the customer and is not a primary identifier used for matching against sanctions lists.

1. ACAMS Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS) Study Guide, 6th Edition. Chapter 3, "Sanctions Screening," details the critical data elements for effective screening. It emphasizes that core identifiers such as name, date of birth, and identification numbers are fundamental inputs for screening systems to match against sanctions list entries.

2. The Wolfsberg Group, "Guidance on Sanctions Screening," 2019. Section 11 (page 6) states, "The quality and availability of data is a key component of an effective and efficient screening process... Key data used for screening customers and transactions includes, but is not limited to... for natural persons: full name(s), including aliases; date of birth; address; nationality; and country of residence/incorporation." This highlights the primacy of name, DOB, and identifying attributes like nationality, which are often confirmed via ID numbers.

3. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). "A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments." May 2, 2019. Page 6 discusses the importance of collecting quality data for screening, stating that a compliance program should "ensure that its sanctions list screening tool is screening relevant parties against an appropriate and up-to-date sanctions list... The quality of the data will greatly influence the effectiveness of a screening tool." The data fields on the SDN list itself, which include name, DOB, and various ID numbers, confirm their importance.