Identity Theft Part 2: Protecting Your Business

Tracy Johnson for Business.gov

In my last blog entry about Identity Theft I talked about what your responsibilities are if your business is hit by identity thieves - if information about your customers is compromised while in your possession.

I started with that entry first, as opposed to starting with a “protect yourself” entry first, because most business owners do not think about identity theft until after it’s happened.

Stop and think for a moment - where do you keep your customer information? How do you secure customer credit card information, personal information (name, address, etc.), and any identifying data you may have in your possession? Are you protecting that information differently than any other information?

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to safeguard customer information. If you don’t, it may cost you, your customers, and your business.

Step One: The Five-Step Plan

Taking the necessary steps to protecting yourself, and your customer information, is not as hard as it may sound. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides an easy-to-follow five-step plan for protecting customer information. This plan, and accompanying brochure, can be found on the FTC website.

Here are the basics, according to the FTC:

1. Take Stock: Know what personal information you have in your files and on your computers
2. Scale Down: Keep only what you need for your business
3. Lock It: Protect the information in your care
4. Pitch It: Properly dispose of what you no longer need
5. Plan Ahead: Create a plan to respond to security incidents

Implementing this plan should be your first order of business. The next step is education.

Step Two: Education

For better or worse, there are likely many people in your organization that “touch”, in some way, your customer information. Partners and contractors outside your business may have access to that information as well. Every single person and organization that has access to your customer information must understand the threat of identity theft and the importance of securing that information.

You can do that education yourself. You can also turn again to the FTC for guidance. The FTC has a national education campaign called “AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend” wherein you can use their materials - co-branded with your own - to educate your employees and partners.

The more you educate, the safer you - and your customers - will be.

More Resources

As I mentioned in my last blog, there are a range of resources provided by the government that can help protect your customers and your business. The Small Business Administration’s Business.gov site provides a series of pages dedicated to this topic - as well as a range of related topics, including tips that can help you guard against Internet fraud. You can also find a similar listing of information on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) site.

These resources are there to help. Use them. You may be sorry if you don’t.