In keeping your business moving right along, there are some factors in play.
One such factor in today’s digital age is guarding against identity theft.
As many small business owners know, I.D. theft has visited their companies over time. In doing so, it has not only led to financial pain, but also the loss of customers. As customers suffer the fallout from identity theft, they vent to the business owner.
In doing all you can to guard against I.D. theft, make sure you don’t rest on your laurels.
For those owners thinking that identity theft can’t strike them, think again.
Protect Your Business and Customers
So your small business does all it can to guard against I.D. theft, remember a few tips:
1.Security
For starters, do you have a solid online security system in place?
Being lax on security can be like leaving the front door of your home open to strangers.
Review your small business security measures on a regular basis. Look for any chinks in the armor that could invite thieves in.
Also make it a point to not overlook your employees.
Sure, you’d like to think you never have to worry about staff, but that is not always the case.
Countless inside jobs have led small business owners to have problems on their hands. Those problems could lead to closed doors.
Be sure to instruct employees from the day you hire them that there is no patience with identity theft.
Go so far about tell them that your company will even prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.
2.Credit card transactions
As part of your small business operations, credit cards are no doubt in use on a regular basis.
Make it a point to have secure credit card processing a regular feature at your company.
Customers in general will spend more on products and services with credit cards. As a result, it only stands to reason that this process must be as secure as possible.
If you are doing transactions on-the-go, make sure to protect them.
Such transactions are likely to occur when:
- Meeting with clients outside the office
- Making sales at community events
- Conducting sales at networking events and trade shows
- Selling and delivering products to people’s homes
3.Documenting daily business
Minus some that have hesitated going to all computers, most businesses use technology.
That technology allows them to store a lot of company and customer information. As such, it can be a prime target for identity theft thieves and their evil intentions.
That said, paper documents do not mean a free pass when it comes to identity theft.
Only those employees who need to see such documents should do so.
For instance, employee files should be under lock-and-key.
The only people with access to them should be the H.R. department and of course ownership. As such documents become expendable, be sure to destroy them immediately.
Keeping identity theft away from your business will never be an easy task.
With that in mind, what are you doing to stay one step ahead of identity theft thieves?
