Is Your Company Vulnerable to Identity Theft?
Is Your Company Vulnerable to Identity Theft?
The number of document shredders purchased by business owners is at an all-time high.
Why?First and foremost, there's identity theft.
Starting in the summer of 2005, a new law will be enforced that mandates the destruction of any document containing personally identifiable information about an individual before it is discarded. This law applies to any situation where an individual is employed, regardless of the reason, and personal information about that individual is stored for purposes such as Social Security taxes, credit references, etc.
Before disposing of any paper or electronic media that may include personal information collected from a consumer report, you are legally obligated to erase and destroy it.
When President Bush signed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) into law on December 4, 2003, it became law.
Among the things that FACTA permits:Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 once a year for a free credit report. Nationwide, this took effect on September 1, 2003.The final five digits of a credit card number are the only ones that can be shown on any digitally printed receipt. In December 2003, this became law.Before disposing of a consumer credit report, employers are required to delete all personally identifiable information. June 1, 2005 is the date of implementation.To activate a nationwide fraud alert, individuals need only contact one of three credit-reporting agencies if they have suspicions of identity theft. This is now operational.No matter the outcome of your loan application, mortgage lenders are required by law to disclose the credit score that was used to calculate your interest rate. This is now operational.
The corporate sector in the United States is feeling the effects of the growing epidemic of identity theft.
The year 2003 saw the theft of personal information from almost 7 million individuals.
The average cost to restore their credit was around $1,495 and it took them around 600 hours to get their finances in order.
Shredders, which can destroy documents, are also among the most popular home appliances.
Have you ever gotten in the habit of ripping up important documents like bank statements and flushing them down the toilet? Maybe you want to keep your identity secret, therefore you've decided to burn these documents. No matter what you've tried before, shredding is a far simpler and more efficient way to get the job done.
What if, while disposing of employee data, you fail to shred it and part of that data ends up in the wrong hands?An employee may sue you for monetary damages. On the other hand, you can face statutory damages of up to $1,000 for every employee.A class action lawsuit could be filed if several employees' identities have been compromised, and you, the employer, could be held liable for punitive damages.Government fines in the United States can reach $2,500 for each infraction.State Penalties - Penalties might reach $1,000 for every infraction.
Considering this new legislation, wouldn't it be prudent to invest in a shredder?
The ideal shredder to choose is a cross-cutting model. A document is truly destroyed by this shredder. You should attempt putting one together after passing it through one of these machines.
Theft of personal information is on the rise. Avoid becoming just another statistic by protecting your household or business.
No way!
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