Posts Tagged ‘business identity theft’
Know the ‘life’ of the documents in your business
Friday, January 27th, 2012
Business owners: Don’t think you can’t be hit by identity theft
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011Many people think identity theft is only something that happens to individuals. But this isn’t true. Businesses are often the targets for identity thieves, because they can get access to more information and more cash, than with a single targeted person.
Incidents of identity theft involving businesses is on the rise, but surprisingly, state laws against stealing the identity of an individual is much more rigorous than those laws against stealing information from a business.
One of the most common ways thieves operate within the realm of identity theft at businesses is to steal credit card numbers. This can be done through a skimmer, which is a device that records the information on the magnetic strip of a credit card. The thief can then download the information later on and use it to create a phony card or make purchases online without a card.
This is why consumers should be vigilant about checking their credit card statements each month, watching out for fraudulent or questionable entries. If you see any such entries, you should contact the card issuer immediately, close the account and get a new card.
Business owners should establish a call-back procedure with their banks, in which the bank will call the account owner to verify a transaction before any transfers are made. This will help prevent thieves from using stolen credit cards.
Businesses should also be careful about shredding customer documents and receipts before disposing them. Identity thieves are above going through trash to find information they can use – and they often do.
Last of all, business owners must be vigilant about computer safety. Make sure you password protect your computers, and only give access to those who must have it. You should also be sure to have the must up to date protection software installed. Make sure your virus checker and firewall are up to date, and that all downloaded documents are checked for viruses or malware.
Businesses hit hard by identity theft
Monday, September 12th, 2011Identity theft has been an issue for years for individuals – but it’s a bit of a newer concern for the business world.
Apparently, experts say, thieves have discovered that businesses have fewer legal protections, and this makes them a “better” target. A study by Javelin Strategy and Research found that identity theft among small businesses has decreased in recent years; however, businesses are still being hit at a rate of 4.1 percent.
Out of pocket costs for small businesses hit with identity theft is about $4,851 – about twice the $1,574 paid by an individual consumer.
Why are businesses “better” targets? Mostly because businesses have larger amounts of money to steal and bigger lines of credit. And if a business is large, all the better – it just means the theft will take longer to notice.
Protect your business by making sure to limit who has access to passwords and sensitive information. When an employee leaves, change the passwords, and be sure to make them difficult to figure out.
You should also make sure that customer documents are shredded before disposal – as well as business documents containing financial or sensitive information.
And you may also want to consider signing up for identity theft protection for your business. You can’t monitor your personal or financial – or business – information 24/7. Let someone else do it for you.
Check out what LifeLock has to offer at www.lifelock.com.
Protect your business from data breaches
Monday, February 28th, 2011If you own your own business, you know how tough it can be to keep your day-to-day operation costs down. It seems there’s always something popping up. Those unexpected costs can really eat up your bottom line.
But what if your company experiences a data breach? Now you’ve got legal issues, and the added cost of making sure your customers are protected. How are you going to deal with this added expense?
The answer is to take steps to be sure it never happens in the first place. Whether you are responding to a data breach, or looking to expand your employee benefits offerings or looking for a new revenue stream for your business, it makes sense to sign up for LifeLock® Breach Services. LifeLock® identity theft protection is a great investment for businesses of all sizes, and can help protect your customers and employees.
Not only can you lose money from a data breach, but your business can lose its good reputation in the community. LifeLock® Breach Services can quickly restore public confidence and help you avoid unnecessary costs. When you sign up, you’ll get fast response from LifeLock®, and a dedicated representative to work with you.
You’ll also get communications management, including notifications that are required by state and federal law and relevant banks or credit card issuers. Your affected customers can get a LifeLock® membership to help protect them.
Even after the incident, LifeLock® will provide you with reports and ongoing information about enrollments and fraud incidents, as well as ongoing support to help prevent any future incidents.
Things you can do yourself to help protect yourself include:
• Take inventory and know who has access to personnel and customer information in your system.
• Implement physical and electronic security methods, as well as employee training, to keep data safe.
• Remove peer-to-peer software and deny access to file sharing sites from company computers.
• Use shredders and wipe decommissioned electronic devices.
• Establish an identity theft protection team to help bolster your efforts.
