Business Advice Daily

Reprint and Repost Policy

by Matt Berkley

As if Identity Theft hasn’t become a big enough problem for business owners, FACTA—the new Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act—a provision that went into effect in June 2005, states that an employer could be liable for actual and punitive damages along with state and federal fines when an employee’s identity is breached and the breach is traced to employment records.

Identity Theft has emerged as a serious concern for business owners. It’s currently the fastest growing crime in the nation, effecting bank accounts, lines of credit, customer/employee information and more.

“Identity theft seems to be more of a problem for businesses as they have access to millions of consumers’ personal information as well as credit information. If a business is not protected, it could mean the death of a person’s business,” says Corey Spector independent associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

Accordingly, Pre-Paid Legal offers their clients services to safeguard their businesses from the threat of Identity Theft, both before and after the fact.

Michael Greenblat, president and owner of United Fulfillment Solutions, a local packaging/shipping company, describes the peace of mind he has as a Pre-Paid client. “Most of the time when your identity is taken, all of a sudden you say to yourself ‘Who do I start calling? Who do I go to?’ If you have someone you can go to quickly that can help you, then you’re going to reduce your exposure a lot faster. To me that’s the most powerful thing about Prepaid,” he says.

“Most of the victims are individuals,” says Faye Whobrey, another local independent associate and director of marketing with Pre-Paid. “However, many businesses have had their accounts used by IDT (identity theft) thieves. For the individuals, it is not uncommon for large databases to be accessed—either as employees or customers—and hundreds of thousands of individuals are being put at risk simultaneously.”

According to Whobrey, the Federal Trade Commission urges IDT victims to immediately obtain legal counsel. For clients of Pre-Paid, an Identity Theft plan can be coupled with regular legal coverage for a nominal fee.

“Pre-Paid offers a coverage that not only does the upfront credit reports—so you can see what’s on your record and how to clean up old stuff—and continuously monitors both the member’s and spouse’s social security numbers. It also supports the “restoration” of the victim’s identity. The client is assigned an investigator: a person who holds his or her hand and does most of the effort required. The victim still has to expend some effort, but the bulk is done by the experienced investigator.”

As an employer, Whobrey suggests the best course of action is to include coverage in your employee benefit package. “By providing our family legal memberships and Identity Theft coverage as an employee benefit, not only is the business providing a much needed benefit to its employees, but it is mitigating its risk in case of a breach.”

8 Tips To Identity Theft-Proof Your Business

* Physically secure/lock up all paper records.

* Encrypt your data.

* Only collect necessary info from customers.

* Establish a timeline to shred sensitive materials.

* Properly screen and train your employees.

* Limit access to sensitive data.

* Secure online sales.

* Terminate network access when an employee leaves.

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