Over 9 million people have been a victim of identity theft and costs over $56 billion to the economy every year according to the Better Business Bureau. Identity theft impacts consumers in Colorado and all over the country. Unfortunately, consumers are nolonger the only targets for identity theft.
Business identity theft (a.k.a. Corporate or Commercial identity theft) is a new type of identity theft. In the case of a business, a criminal will steal the business’s identity and use that information to establish lines of credit with banks or retailers. With the lines of credit the identity thieves will purchase commercial electronics, home improvement materials, gift cards and other items that can be bought and exchanges for cash or sold easily.
This damage can be devastating to any business. The damage to the business’ credit history can lead to a denial of credit, which can lead to operational problems. The cost to clean up and correct the damage can be hundreds of dollars and hours of lost time.
There is some good news amongst all this chaos. The Colorado Secretary of State, the Colorado Attorney General, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation ID Theft Unit have developed this Business Identity Theft Resource Guide to provide businesses with the information necessary to avoid and reduce the threat of business identity theft and to help those businesses that have already fallen victim to these crimes.
Identity theft is a huge topic with lots of information so we broke it down into 3 different catagories. This way you won’t have to spend hours searching for the information you need.
- Small Businesses Be Aware Of Identity Theft
- Tips on Preventing and Detecting Business Identity Theft
- Information for Victims of Business Identity Theft