Living Financially SMART Inc

  Have you heard of FACTA or the Red Flags Rule? 

87% of business owners have never heard of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which places a strong emphasis regarding data security on the shoulders of business owners.  Companies need to protect the information collected on their clients, customers, employees, and vendors.

1. Create a written policy explaining your procedures for how you will implement the security of collected information, as well as the actions you will follow should a breach occur.

2. Appoint someone in Senior Management as your Security Officer.  Make this official by putting it in writing.

3. Provide 'Identity Theft Training' to all their employees, whether they are full time, part time or seasonal?  If they have access to information, then they need to know how to protect it and avoid the possibility of a security breach.   According to the FTC, "A well-trained workforce is your best defense against identity theft and security breaches."

Ms. Jorgenson, at Living Financially Smart Inc., provides employee training to satisfy the requirements for that particular area of the FACT Act, by using the Deter, Detect, Defend educational material supplied by the FTC.  She also offers a solution for employees to consider.  Having a program in place at your business could act as an early warning system for "internal breaches".  It is more cost effective to be proactive than reactive.

Four main areas were identity theft could negatively impact your business:

I - When the business owner becomes a victim

II - When one of your employees becomes a victim

III - When the business entity becomes a victim

IV - When the businesses customers or clients become a victim