How Do Companies Prevent Identity Theft?
Adolf Pike Identity theft is a concern for businesses that collect personal information from their customers. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires financial institutions to safeguard such information. Written Plan A written plan designates at least one employee to act as information security coordinator. The plan includes methods to safeguard information as well as how to monitor those methods. Check References Before employees are hired, a background check is performed. How detailed the background check is depends on the level of access a potential employee will have to customer information. Controlled Access Strong passwords are used and changed on a regular basis. These passwords will include characters, numbers and symbols at a length of at least six characters. Employee Training Employees are trained and reminded on a regular basis of security policies. They will know the appropriate steps to take when using any company equipment and when
Basics Financial institutions, Internet companies and businesses take great pains to protect their employees’ and customers’ private information. A study done by Javelin Strategy and Research, a national financial industry research organization, reported that more than 8.1 million cases of identity theft were discovered in 2008, constituting a 12 percent decrease since 2006. As businesses and consumers take increasingly effective measures to prevent identity theft and fraud, criminals must resort to more conventional means of stealing, including telephone scams and personal property theft. Public awareness and better preventive measures being taken by businesses combine to reduce the problem. Consumers are using more anti-spyware software and online banking to help protect their funds. Businesses have ramped up security measures as well. Secure Online Trading Strong firewalls are employed by companies to prevent hackers from getting into commercial computer systems. When a financial in
