National Protect Your Identity Week, Oct. 20 to 26, provides a prime opportunity to talk to your staff about identity protection. We know from multiple studies that workplace identity theft is a growing concern. Are you doing enough to help your employees protect themselves?
While businesses routinely train employees in protocols intended to protect business data and prevent data breaches, they may be less involved in schooling workers on personal identity theft prevention. Yet helping employees know how to protect themselves isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes business sense, too.
An employee whose identity is compromised may spend hours and days trying to resolve issues stemming from the crime. It’s a safe bet that at least some of that time will have to be during working hours. On top of that loss of productivity, add the complications of a stressed, distracted employee and just one instance of personal identity theft could directly impact your business.
What’s more, if the theft occurs in the workplace through data systems your business uses or is responsible for, you may face legal repercussions as well. Not sure how exposed your employees may be in your workplace? Take the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Workplace Identity Theft Quiz to get a better understanding of exposure in your place of business.
Co-hosted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, the National Sheriff’s Association and the National Association of Triads, National Identity Protection Week is not just a consumer initiative. The campaign aims to create broad awareness of the need for identity protection measures, both in private and professional lives. You can observe the week by talking to employees about identity theft prevention and by offering them tools that can help.
Participate in or sponsor an event honoring the week, such as a shredding workshop, guest speaker or credit report review. You can find a searchable state-by-state list here.
Consider adding credit monitoring to your employee benefits package. Too often, employees don’t think of enrolling in a credit protection product until after their identity has been compromised. Experian offers credit monitoring as part of our comprehensive data breach resolution services, and you can extend that protection to your employees.