|
How Companies Put Your Identity at
Risk
You may take several precautions to protect your
identity. You shred your mail and password protect your
accounts. You even keep an eye out for the latest
identity theft scams. The problem is that no matter what
you do for yourself, your identity is still at risk.
Think about all of the companies and organizations you
have to give your SSN to. All of these companies may be
putting your identity at risk without you even knowing.
Here are a few of the ways they may do this.
-
One of the biggest ways companies put
your identity at risk is refusing to dispose
of paperwork properly. Companies are supposed
to shred any personal information. Whether
it’s being forgetful or just plain lazy,
company employees will often just throw
paperwork with sensitive information in the
trash. This information could contain your
name, address, phone numbers, birthdate, even
your social security number. If it’s a medical
company it could also contain your medical
history. This is definitely not information
you want floating around for anyone to see.
Identity thieves know to take advantage of
these companies, so they’ll dig through the
trash to find all kinds of information in
minutes.
-
Another way companies put you at risk
is through their computer system. Many times
companies do not have enough security on their
computer systems. They should have updated
anti-spyware and anti-virus programs, as well
as some kind of encryption for personal
information. This is really the very least a
company should do to protect your information.
Unfortunately, many companies don’t even do
the basics of computer protection. This leaves
your information easily accessible to identity
theft hackers. Your information may also be
accessible to dishonest employees that aren’t
supposed to have access to your information.
What stops workers from getting on the
computer when no one else is in the office? No
employer wants to believe that his employees
are capable of this, but it does
happen.
-
Your SSN is probably the most
sensitive piece of information you own. If a
thief gets this number, they can pretty much
do whatever they want. More and more companies
are requiring SSN before they allow you to use
their service. Your SSN is in the hands of a
lot of different people. Several of them
either don’t know the risks of identity theft,
or they just don’t care. They don’t take the
time to protect your SSN. They may leave it on
forms that are out in the open or repeat it
back to over the phone while another customer
is standing there. There is no end to the ways
they could be careless with your SSN.
-
Besides not shredding paperwork or
protecting their computers and your SSN, there
is another problem on the rise. Outsourcing is
becoming more popular with companies because
of the large profit margins. While workers in
foreign countries are not any more dishonest
than workers in this country, there is more
risk of identity theft. Several outsourcing
countries don’t have the regulations and laws
that help deter identity theft. It’s also much
easier for a worker across the world to get
away with the theft. When you work with people
overseas, you have no way of knowing who
you’re working with, and most companies don’t
care as long as it’s cheap. Outsourcing is
just going to get more popular, causing
identity theft risks to rise as well.
As mentioned before, you may not even know these
things are happening. If you do suspect that a company
isn’t protecting your privacy, you may want to switch to
a new company. If this isn’t an option, then take your
concerns to the head of the company. If they can’t prove
to you that they follow privacy regulations, then you may
want to report them. Before giving your SSN to anyone,
make sure they let you know how it will be used and who
will see it. They should also be able to tell you the
steps they take to keep your information
private.
| 