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by: PaulWilcox
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Word Count: 381
Personal identity theft has been prevalent since the start of the Information Age " every year thousands of people report credit cards or bank accounts being accessed by unauthorized people, making fraudulent transactions that cost large sums of money.
Corporations are not immune to this type of crime. Corporate identity theft is the misuse of a company's identity for personal use.
Corporate identity theft comes in several forms: using a business name on an online merchant account, finding sensitive information in trash bins, hacking into a corporation's website to steal or corrupt date, or designing a website with a similar domain name to steal traffic that would have gone to the legitimate company.
Taking Preventive Measures
All of these forms of corporate identity theft are preventable through various measures.
Careful maintenance and security of your website is most critical. Most identity theft takes place online. Have IT staff monitor website access regularly, and include an email address on the home page for end users to report any unusual occurrences. For example, there have been cases in which a company website was hacked and pornographic material distributed through it. This company's professional image was tarnished by this act. Also, regularly check for domain names that are similar to yours, or be proactive and purchase commonly misspelled variations of your URL.
Another cause of rising corporate identity theft is that of misplaced paper documents. Misplaced hard documents are another cause of rising corporate identity theft. Shred all paper documents to percent sensitive data from being stolen.
Finally, be sure that computer networks are secure. Regularly updated virus protection software, strong firewalls, adware and spyware blockers and secure passwords are good ways of maintaining a secure network. Have a strict policy about Internet use; employees that surf the Internet during work hours not only are being unproductive, they also put the integrity of the company at risk when accessing sites that could potentially deliver spyware or adware.
Following these guidelines will ensure the greatest chance possible of avoiding corporate identity theft. No matter how secure an organization may be, there is always an ingenious criminal who can think of a way to infiltrate. Never take for granted the infallibility of existing computer software or company policy. Always keep up-to-date with methods of protection, because potential identity thieves are certainly innovating constantly.
Is your computer secure enough? Find out what you need to be doing to keep it safe from viruses, spyware and other online security threats at the Online Security Toolkit website. Visit http://www.onlinesecuritytoolkit.com for more information.