Don’t Think Identity Theft is a Small Problem

Dave Thomas

September 14, 2016

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As you reflect for a moment on where your small business is at the present time, what makes you happy and what has you somewhat concerned?

When it comes to the latter, if identity theft is not on your radar, it should be moving forward.

Unfortunately, small businesses are oftentimes targeted simply due to the fact that they have limited budgets, not to mention the fact they oftentimes will think that I.D. theft can’t impact them.

That said what are you doing as a small business owner to keep identity theft as remote as possible from your company?

Will You Become the Next Victim?

In order to avoid becoming an identity theft victim, your small business needs to install a pro-active approach to the problem of identity theft.

Among the actions you should take:

Avoiding complacency – One of the greatest dangers when it comes to battling identity theft is being complacent to the problem. If you feel like I.D. theft can never strike your small business, you are applying the wrong mindset. Always note that identity theft can come at your brand at any time, so do not think you are immune;
Protecting you and your business – The best way to go about protecting your small business from identity theft is by having a protection plan in place. There are different providers on the market who can rate for you the various companies providing online monitoring programs. These programs keep you abreast of any unusual behavior towards your credit cards, bank accounts, online activities etc. In a nutshell, you can’t monitor your on and offline activities 24/7, so find a professional provider to handle that need;
Educating your employees – In the event you have employees, how up to speed are they on protecting your brand from being the next identity theft victim? You should conduct occasional meetings to discuss the perils of identity theft, educating your employees on what to look out for. Instead of making the meetings boring (where you simply just lecture the team for 30 minutes), bring in some identity theft experts on occasion, those individuals who can speak from experience about how damaging identity theft is and can be to your brand. Encourage your employees to ask questions and come up with solutions on how to protect your brand from becoming yet another I.D. theft casualty. Such education involves their practices both in and outside of the office. For example, if one of your workers travels to an overnight networking conference, does he or she automatically use a computer at the hotel? If so, what guarantees do they have that the local server is 100 percent safe? Your employee could be pulling up sensitive customer data on a computer, only to have it stolen by an I.D. theft thief. In another scenario, he or she uses a company credit card to wine and dine some potential clients. In the process, the card is compromised. Before you know it, unwarranted charges are being placed on the card, leaving you with a mess on your hands. Discuss ways to avoid such problems, leaving you with one less thing to worry about;
Reviewing your operations – Finally, make sure to review your I.D. theft practices that you have deployed, being as confident as possible that they in fact work. As I.D. theft criminals become smarter and smarter as it pertains to using technology to their advantage, you have to be sure your anti-crime methods are up to the task.

If your small business becomes the next victim of identity theft, the repercussions could be tremendous, perhaps even putting you out of business when all is said and done.

By being pro-active, you can greatly reduce the chances of being that next I.D. theft casualty.

That pro-activeness includes staying alert of trends in the identity theft arena, making sure your employees are doing their utmost to not open the door to I.D. theft, and assuring your customers that you are doing everything possible to protect their personal data.

Don’t become the next identity theft victim, something that is far from being just a small problem.