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Identity theft is the fastest growing type of crime in the
country. According to the California Office of Information
Security and Privacy Protection there were 8.1 million U.S.
residents who were victims of identity theft in 2007.
It costs employers and individuals money and time to recover and
it is generally preventable. As a nationwide payroll
processor and benefits administrator we are entrusted with both
personal private information and employer information. We
are very sensitive to protection of our customers information
and that of their employees.
Each year we spend a significant amount of money upgrading
our security and our processes in an effort to make sure our
clients' data is not compromised. We strongly suggest each
employer do the same. We also encourage our employers to
take up the effort to protect their employees by promoting
Identity Protection as an employer sponsored benefit. The
greatest benefit can be seen just with education.
We suggest that everyone formulate an Identity Protection
Plan on both a individual and corporate level. It sounds
daunting but there are a lot of resources on the internet to
help you. Because each of our situations is unique it is
impossible to develop a cookie cutter plan. Again most
protection can be gained with education and inexpensive,
sensible techniques.
Resources for individuals:
Local - Talk with your local police & sheriff departments
about specific types of identity thefts they are seeing in your
community. They have excellent resources to help stem the
tide against the local hoodlums.
State - Many states are forming state agencies to help
combat the problem. In California go to
http://www.privacy.ca.gov
This office has a number of handouts online. Also in
California the State Attorney General's website at
http://ag.ca.gov there are dozens
of links to helpful resources.
Federal - Identity theft education on a national level falls
under the Federal Trade Commission for the Consumer. Their
website is http://www.ftc.gov
They primarily deal with credit cards and credit reports in how
they relate to identity theft.
Resources for Companies
The SANS Institute -
https://www.sans.org/
The International Association of Privacy Professionals -
https://www.privacyassociation.org
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