The Integrity News
"objective risk management news"
Vol. XV No. 3
ISSN 1081-2717
May 25, 2006
May 24, 2006
As security breaches proliferate, a new benefit
for employees aims to cut the time that they
spend at work restoring their private records.
"As identity theft continues to claim millions of victims,
a growing number of employers are offering to help
affected workers pick up the pieces."
"Companies have recently been signing up for identity
theft resolution services to offer their employees as a
workplace benefit. The companies say the service can
reduce the time employees spend during work hours
filing reports and talking with creditors to resolve the
problems created by identity theft."
"A recent survey of human resource managers found
that 2% of employers currently offer identity theft
services as a workplace benefit, and a further 4.6%
said they expected to offer it in the near future."
"Security and insurance experts say the interest also
stems from concern among employers that they might
face liability for personal data they have put at risk.
By offering employees recovery assistance, companies
hope to head off possible lawsuits."
Ed: This is yet another reason to make absolutely
sure that you have a signed Authorization and Release
of Liability from every employee.
This past week, 26.5 million sets of personal data
from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including
Social Security Numbers of the veterans and some of
their spouses, were stolen from an employee laptop.
Ed: Review your policies regarding what you allow
employees to take home on a laptop or other device.
"The lapse brings to more than 80 million the number
of identities since early 2005 that have been put at
risk through such data breaches." "The Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) found in a 2003 study that
27.3 million Americans had been victims of some type
of identity theft in the previous five years." That
shows how the pace of identity theft is accelerating.
Do the math. This problem effects 50% of the U.S.
working population.
"Broadly defined, identity theft includes the un-
authorized use of another person's credit card or
bank accounts. But the worst type of crime involves
using the name, birth date, and SSN of a victim to
open fraudulent accounts or obtain benefits under
false pretenses."
Ed: the WSJ did not mention the
Darkest Side of
Identity Theft
--- having someone commit a felony
using your identity. That is almost impossible to
correct.
"For identity theft victims, fixing the problem can
be time consuming and exasperating. One in five
households spent at least a month resolving the
problem, according to a survey released by the
Department of Justice last month." "Many victims
fall prey again later because stolen data are often
resold in the black market."
"Identity theft resolution services range from
companies that mostly advise employees on how
to clean up the mess themselves, to those that
obtain a limited power-of-attorney, and go to bat
for the victim with creditors and credit bureaus."
Numerous services are mentioned in the article,
and their fees range from $5.00 to $180.00 per
year per employee.
If employees feel threatened by identity theft,
they should be advised to do the following:
"Place fraud alerts with the three major credit bureaus.
Review the bureaus' credit reports
and contact creditors
about any problems.
If you are a victim of identity theft, file a police report
and a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Get FREE Counseling for identity theft victims from
non-profit groups. Or, pay a fee to a Private company
to assist with ID theft resolution."
Companies and individuals can also find free information about
how to prevent and resolve identity thefts at the
FTC web site.
If you would like to discuss any of the above procedures,
get the phone numbers or web addresses of the three
major credit bureaus, or get the names of the identity
theft resolution services from this article, call
The Integrity Center, Inc.
at (972) 484-6140.
Helping you with your Risk Management and HR Automation is what we do.
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