Of all the security issues businesses face, identity theft may be one of the scariest. A breach in business identity has the power to damage your relationship with key customers and employees, as well as hinder your ability to operate.
Business Identity Theft (or corporate or commercial identity theft) occurs when a business’s identity is used to transact business and establish lines of credit with banks or vendors. If your business becomes a victim of identity theft, you may have to face the financial and legal burdens of defending your trademarks, copyrights, or patents in court.
Read the guide below for an initial overview on how to help protect your business.
WHAT METHODS DO FRAUDSTERS USE?
While no business is 100 percent safe from a business identity threat, understanding the methods behind identity theft can provide some insight into how to keep your business safe:
- Impersonation with intent of forging and cashing out new credit lines
Just as every person in the U.S. has a unique and sensitive identifying number (social security number), a business’s Employer ID Number (EIN) is just as sensitive. In fact, all a thief needs to impersonate a business is its EIN, physical address, and legal name.
- Accessing sensitive information through the owner’s personal information (or an employee’s)
It is important to keep your personal information secure, too—because an identity thief may try and gain access to important business files through an individual’s information. This is why it is important to practice good “cyber hygiene” in your personal life—like using hard-to-guess passwords and avoiding links you don’t trust.
- Theft of sensitive documents or company credit cards
It only takes one piece of paper for your business to be at risk. If a sensitive document or company credit card ends up in the wrong hands, your business could end up in a lot of trouble. Be sure to keep sensitive paperwork locked and secure, and be cautious of who has access to such information. You should also make a note of anything you trust an employee with and avoid filing sensitive data on a workplace server that is minimally secure.
HOW CAN I PREVENT BUSINESS IDENTITY THEFT?
The best way to prevent business identity theft is to take action to keep your important information secure. Here 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.
WHAT DO I DO IF I SUSPECT MY BUSINESS HAS BEEN TARGETED?
It is important to act right away if you feel your business has become a target for identity theft. Here’s how:
- Report the theft to your local authorities
- Contact your banks and credit providers and notify them of the theft
- Place fraud alerts on your business accounts
- Reach out to any creditors where fraudulent accounts were opened, and request copies of all documentation used to access the accounts
- Talk to an attorney about your options
- Reach out to the Iowa Secretary of State for resources
Fast Track Filing does its part to keep your business information safe by sending notices to registered agents every time a document is filed for a company. Notices are most frequently sent through email but may be sent via postcard if the Office doesn’t have an email address for the registered agent. 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.