Identity fraud is a big problem. It is a problem that affects everyone; directly or indirectly. Small Business Owners must be extra vigilant with their personal information and their sensitive business information. Due to the nature of small business,most times, there are not compliance departments and, usually, much is being done by a few people. This opens the door to security breaches and information leaks. Just think of documents that you must mail, email or fax; what sensitive information may be contained in them? Because most companies have information in the public domain or must transmit or send information into public domain. As a small business owner, you must be diligent with how data is managed and what leaves your company and travels through the public domain.

Interesting stats about Identity Theft

• Percentage of United States population affected by Identity Fraud

2007 – 3.6%

2008 – 4.3%

2009 – 4.9%

• Total number of Fraud victims in the United States

2007 – 8.1 million

2008 – 9.9 million

2009 – 11.1 million

• Total United States Fraud Damages

2007 – $45 billion

2008 – $48 billion

2009 – $54 billion

• Small Business Owners suffered identity theft 1.5 times more than the average consumer

• Most Compromised Information

full name – 63%

physical address – 37%

social security number – 32%

• Fraudulent New Credit Cards are up 18%

• Fraudulently opened internet accounts has more than doubled in 2009

• E-Commerce Account Fraud (Amazon, PayPal,eBay) increased by 12%

• Mobile Phone Accounts made up 29% of all fraudulent new accounts opened in 2009

• Health Insurance information is a growing area of fraud, increasing by 4%

• Social Networking has opened up younger Americans (Generation Y) to the most account misuse compared to other age groups