The Risk of Identity Theft at The Workplace

When a person applies for a job and is eventually hired, his or her personal information is stored. Copies of social security numbers, driver’s licenses, and even bank routing numbers are made and stored in filing cabinets and computer databases. Without the proper security measures in place, any employee’s personal information could be retrieved and illegally used. The risk of identity theft at the workplace is high if there is improper security that could easily be breached.

There are many ways to prevent personal information from falling into the wrong lap.

Lock paper job applications in a safe place and only allow certain Human Resources employees to access online applications. Social security numbers could easily be copied from either form of the job application. If your business requires employees to have an HID card, then the boundaries could be simply put in place. Program a Human Resource department employee’s HID card so that he or she is the only person who is allowed to access the files that hold personal employee information. Do the same for anyone who would be allowed access to the paper applications.

Consider having a company ID printer for HID or other types of employee ID cards. Hiring an outside company means that you trust other people with your employees’ personal information, especially if you are hiring them to make an HID car. Any printing company could duplicate HID cards and use them for illegal purposes. Even though they would most likely get caught in the act, this incident could be avoided completely if your company has its own ID printer that only certain employees would be allowed to use. You could even find printers that have pass codes for added security.

Do not get lazy with the paper shredder. Sometimes people do not want to leave the comfort of their desk chair, and instead of properly disposing paperwork by sending them through the shredder, they tear the papers into pieces themselves. Identity thieves could easily piece the papers back together like a puzzle. Copies of personal checks and social security cards need to go through a shredder so that they are less likely to be retrieved and put back together. If your business has a problem with people actually getting up from their chairs and using the shredder, then buying a shredder for each office should be taken into consideration.

Do thorough background checks of potential employees. Although background checks only show acts of reported crime, doing thorough background checks is a way to avoid employing the wrong person. This is especially important for potential employees, like human resource specialists or managers, who would be assigned to collect personal identifying information.

Preventing identity theft in the workplace is extremely important, and it affects the kind of reputation your business has. Employees’ personal information must be kept classified for as long as they remain on record. Not only that, but consumer personal data must be safeguarded just as strictly. The news sometimes has stories regarding how employees have stolen credit card information, bank account numbers, or social security cards of their company’s consumers. Identity theft is a serious concern that must not be taken lightly in any business setting.