While there are almost daily headlines about personal identity theft, businesses are not immune. Businesses can have their identity stolen. Here is one form of the scam:

“A criminal rents space in the same building as your company. Then he applies for corporate credit cards using your firm’s name. The application passes a credit check because the company name and address match, but the cards are delivered to the criminal’s mailbox. He sells them on the street and vanishes before you discover your firm’s credit is wrecked.”

link: Identity Theft: The ‘Business Bust-Out’

Depending on the state, there may not be legislation to cover this form of identity theft. The authorities scramble to find related legislation / laws to pursue these criminals. Often, businesses are not aware and do not watch for this type of scheme. This provides the criminal with the advantage. Another reason to target a business is the gain is generally more than the traditional individual identity theft. Lower risk and bigger payoffs are certain to attract criminal attention.

Catherine Forsythe

[tags]identity theft, businesses, risk, payoff, legislation, security, laws[/tags]