Identity Theft Goes Beyond Personal

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Identity Theft Goes Beyond Personal

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Sherwood Park News

Corporations are being targeted by would-be thieves as they look for information about its payroll or clients.

Individuals aren't the only ones who can fall victim to identity theft.

Companies of all sizes are falling victim to fraud and identity theft, said Rob Warshauer, CEO of Securit, a firm that safeguards confidential records.

Corporate identity theft covers a variety of occurrences. Would-be thieves may steal a company's identity or steal information about its payroll account or clientèle.

The consequences of such events could kill a company, notes RCMP Cpl. Lisa Downie.

As technology continues to advance, digital information flows more freely. As a result, companies require greater protection over the contents of their documents ranging from payroll accounts, client information and research and development, Warshauer noted.

"A lot of it has to do with the security that they already have in place," Downie said, encouraging companies to keep their anti-virus software and firewall protection up-to-date.

She noted that most companies wait until something happens before ensuring the proper safeguards are in place. She said it's important that companies monitor and manage identity theft risks while looking for vulnerabilities and addressing them.

Downie and Warshauer both said potential identity thieves could come from within or outside of the company.

Should someone find access to a company's records and get its corporate profile, it opens the door to recreate documents and steal the identification of the company, Downie notes.

A company board member can also have his or her identity stolen.

Downie explained that either situation could result in a change of the company's registered address by the identity thief or the appointing of a new board of directors.

Unless discovered by the legitimate company, more and more information might begin to get re-routed to the fake company, Downie notes.

Eventually an identity thief could open new bank or credit card accounts under the company name, leaving the real company with the financial consequences.

"They can basically completely ruin a corporation's credit rating," Downie said.

In efforts to avoid falling victim to corporate identity theft, companies should encourage employees to limit the amount of corporate information they share with others or place online, Downie explained.

Warshauer notes that many of Securit's customers have implemented a shred everything policy - from paper documents to pieces of computer hardware - to safeguard their information.

He also encouraged companies to keep their records stored off-site.

Once inside the company's records, identity thieves may also gain access to payroll files, which can yield such information as employee social insurance numbers. "And that information is going to be worth various amounts of money," with some being sold for as low as $5, Downie noted.

Companies may also fall victim to identity theft after confidential documents aren't properly disposed of.  Unshredded paper thrown in the trash can be recovered in the dumpsters of office parks, Warshauer noted.