The best way to prevent business identity theft and cyber security fraud is to take action to keep your important information secure. Below are a few tips:
- Regularly check your business’s credit report for unusual activity.
- Keep up-to-date with the latest online security risks.
- Protect your network and computers with endpoint protection and a firewall.
- Sign up for electronic notifications from your bank, creditors, and service providers to stay up-to-date with any changes in your account.
- Protect your EIN, account numbers, and other personal information as best as possible.
- Create a policy for carrying, using, and reporting a lost or stolen company credit card.
- Do not share sensitive information over e-mail or any web-based service.
If you file your documents through Secretary Pate’s Fast Track Filing system, the website will do its part in keeping your information safe by sending email notices to registered agents every time a document is filed for a company (unless there is no email on file, in which case a postcard will be sent). If a document has been filed by a suspicious party through the site, the recipient of the notice can quickly verify the authority of the filer.
America’s SBDC Iowa can be a useful resource for business security tips and other information. Visit https://iowasbdc.org/cybersecurity/, or access the Cyber Workbook.