By now every consumer knows they’re vulnerable to identity theft, and about 8 million consumers a year learn it the hard way. But small business owners might be surprised to learn the business they’ve nurtured along may be an even more attractive target to identity thieves.
It can all be explained by one of the basic principles of business: return on investment.
One of the red flags that an individual’s identity has been hijacked is a sudden up-tick in big-ticket credit purchases. But, increased expenditures for new furniture, electronics, cell-phone accounts or travel doesn’t so much as raise an eyebrow when they’re being charged to business accounts.
When thieves gain access to Social Security numbers, acquiring the rest of their victim’s identifying information can be a snap. The same goes for the EIN, Employer Identification Number for small business. Having the one piece of information can be the key to business bank accounts. And business bank accounts typically are granted higher credit limits.
In many cases it’s actually easier to steal the identity of a small business. Several employees may have access to the EIN. The company credit cards are loaned out when lunch needs picked up, or office supplies run short, or an employee needs new software. And it’s no great challenge for a thief to cut and paste the company logo from the Internet for phishing expeditions. All the better when the business bears the owner’s name.
Identity theft doesn’t happen just to individuals. If you own a small business, you and your employees need additional identity protection. Visit the LifeLock website at www.LifeLock.com to see how they can protect you and the people who depend on you for their livelihood. If you decide this it the time to take action, use the LifeLock promotion code Defense, and save money while you’re protecting it.
social security identity theft…
You have got to be kidding!…
I have read several articles about business credit com but this post is very interesting to me compared to the other articles when i found it on Wednesday….