It takes blood, sweat, and tears to establish a successful small business. However, there’s one problem that can affect your bottom line negatively or even sink your business - identity theft. Beware: identity theft is on the rise in America for both businesses owners and consumers. In 2020 through April 10, 269 breaches were tracked that exposed 3.3 million records, reports the Insurance Information Institute.
Here’s what you need to know to identify and address business identity theft.
Business identity theft happens when criminals pose as owners, officers, or employees of a business to illegally get cash, credit, and loans, leaving the victimized business with the debts.
Business identity theft takes many forms. Examples include a variety of schemes involving the fraudulent use of business' information, including:
Your business best practices should include regularly checking your credit profile for fraud. Credit card fraud can include:
In order to make sure you haven’t been a victim of these scams, get your free credit report at one of the credit reporting agencies:
For in-depth information, visit the SmartBiz Small business blog: Business Credit Check: Where You Can Get Yours.
Mail theft is a simple but common way for fraudsters who want to steal a business’s information. Bank statements, credit card bills, human resources files, and other mail can be used to stage an attack. Although you may not be able to go entirely paperless, it takes just minutes to switch bank and other financial statements to digital. You’ll save money, time, and protect your business from identity theft.
If you’re not able to save everything to the cloud or go completely paperless, invest in a good shredder and instruct your staff about how to use and what should be shredded.
There are insurance policies that cover potential business identity theft losses. Do your research! Unfortunately, there are fraudsters out there who also scam business owners with phony policies. Additionally, shop around. Some can be costly, offering protection you don’t necessarily need.
Before you open your doors, be sure to have the following technology tools and practices in place. If you don’t have an IT employee in place, consider hiring an outside professional to help.
Make security as a top priority from the start so you don’t have to worry about the tedious cleanup after a hacker gets important data.
When an unprotected device is infected, you may see one or all of these actions:
If your devices exhibit the above symptoms, chances are good that it has been affected. Invest in antivirus software, also called anti-malware software. Antivirus software will begin by checking your computer programs and comparing them to known types of malware. It will also scan your computer for behaviors that may signal the presence of a new, unknown malware.
The most common passwords are pretty easy for anyone to crack. Those include 123456, qwerty, 111111, password, and 123123 are among the top 10. Using a long, unique, random password might sound like an impossible feat, it’s easier than most people realize.
There are tools like Lastpass, Dashlane, and 1Password. You create a unique password for all sites and if one gets hacked, you only have to change one password, not all. Follow smart password guidelines to stay safe.
Plan a meeting to go over identity theft and how it can impact a business. Put together guidelines for employees, especially those that deal with finances, to follow. If appropriate, bring in a security expert to go over best practices to avoid compromised data.
What should victims of business identity threat do?
If you believe your company has become a business identity theft victim, moving quickly could reduce the amount of damage your company suffers. Take these steps swiftly: