Most people are aware of the dangers of someone stealing and
misusing their identity for fraudulent activity. Unfortunately, less people are
familiar with the same crime at a corporate level. In the case of business, a
criminal will steal information about a business identity and use it to
establish lines of credit with banks or retailers. These criminals generally
purchase items that can be bought and exchanged for cash or sold quickly.
With the fast-paced world of technology, criminals have
become very good at keeping up with online security best practices. Its been
said that with the rapidly changing environment, the same technology that you
rely on to conduct your business can also leave you exposed to criminals and
fraud threats. The cost to clean up and correct the damage of identity theft can
cost hundreds of dollars and hours of time. The goal of preventing identity
theft is to put in place the best possible defense against fraudsters.
Weve developed some tips to provide your business with the
information necessary to avoid and reduce the threats of business identity
theft:
Tips for preventing corporate identity theft
- Have a business protection plan that includes
steps to prevent and deal with identity theft - Protect sensitive information and records
- Shred documents that are not necessary to keep
- Do not share financial documents, personal
information, or account numbers via email or other web-based services - Adopt strict policies and procedures, which involve
interrogating internal systems to detect weak spots that may be vulnerable to
fraudulent activity - Train staff to detect red flags
- Use strong usernames and passwords
- Monitor billing activity and your businesss
credit report - Sign up for email alerts on your accounts
- Implement a secure fraud prevention
solution
Needless to say, the impact upon any business that falls
victim of corporate identity theft can be highly damaging. Organizations can be
left devastated and the reputation of the company can be destroyed.
Unfortunately, no business is immune from being a victim. With robust systems
and procedures in place you can make a difference and significantly reduce
your vulnerability to this type of activity.
[Contributed by EVS Marketing]
