Corporate Identity Theft: Is Your Organization At Risk?

By Author: Linda Vincent
Total Articles: 12
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According to the FBI, consumer identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. Unfortunately, corporations, which essentially have the same rights and risks as citizens, are increasingly becoming victims of professional identity thieves.

Indeed, a company has as much of an identity as the rest of us. The difference between consumer identity theft and corporate identity theft can be defined by the number of people affected by it. While consumer identity theft typically only affects the one person targeted, corporate identity theft can affect the organization itself as well as every person who works for the company.

As your company develops sales and marketing strategies for the new year, are you also focusing on strategies to prevent corporate identity theft? If not, you're leaving your organization wide open to a threat that can literally bankrupt your company.

Preventing Corporate Identity Theft:
Corporate identity theft is typically directed at either the Human Resources (HR) or Information Technology (IT) departments, since HR and IT have all of the data an identity thief needs to perpetrate ...
... the crime.

Hiring a corporate identity theft prevention expert to evaluate your HR and IT departments is the best way to safeguard your corporation from a security breach, but there are many ways you can begin to protect your organization in the new year:
* Regularly monitor your company's credit history with business credit reporting agencies. Make sure all information is correct and up-to-date, including addresses, trade accounts, and authorized employees.
* Enforce policies and procedures for all employees. If your manual doesn't include an identity theft section, now's the time to have a corporate identity theft expert review your HR department.
* Educate employees about the right way to handle sensitive data. Corporate identity theft presentations show employees how to protect both the corporation and themselves from common identity theft tactics.
* Address IT security policies, including who has access to sensitive data and where it is stored. Do you have a policy in place for an employee who is terminated from the company? What about their security badge and laptop?
* Perform background checks. It sounds simple, but many companies fail to thoroughly scrutinize the employees they hire. This is vital to a company's data security, and failure to take it as a serious threat can make you vulnerable to corporate identity theft by someone in your employ.

These are just a few of the many actions you can start taking right now to reduce the threat of corporate identity theft in your organization next year. Visit www.TheIdentityAdvocate.com or call 310.831.4400 to speak with the corporate identity theft experts at The Identity Advocate for additional strategies to protect your corporation.