October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. We have all learned how to take precautions when giving out personal information and how to guard personal documents. Being PCI compliant is as important as it has ever been. Thieves are always concocting new and devious ways to steal your Identity. Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion. Identity theft includes one or more of three types of incidents: (1) unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing account, (2) unauthorized use or attempted use of personal information to open a new account, (3) misuse of personal information for a fraudulent purpose.

Thieves are becoming more and more creative on how they tap into your information; the following are just a few examples for a small business owner to be aware of.

Grave Robbing

Studies conducted by ID Analytics have shown that identity thieves have been applying for credit cards under the names of the deceased, opening up clean credit lines, new cell phone services, and in a staggering 1.6 million cases, using Social Security numbers previously belonging to dead people. This can be devastating for family members of the deceased who have been left to manage his or her estate.

Social Media Fraud

With a 13% increase in identity fraud between 2010 and 2011, a study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research showed that consumers may be putting themselves at a higher risk for identity theft as a result of their social media behaviors. People who share their birthday information including specifics about the exact month, day, and year, where you attended high school and you’re your pet's name can increase risk. Not only are all of these details typically asked when verifying an identity, but people also frequently use them in passwords.

Medical Identity Theft

Victims of this type of theft often incur charges for medical care they didn’t even receive after their computerized medical records are stolen. A large chunk of these victims experienced raised premiums as a result of medical identity theft, some lose coverage entirely. Medical identity theft is more of an insider crime, as it is typically done by a health care professional. Part of the reason that medical identity theft is made possible could be because almost half of seniors carry their Social Security card or Medicare card in their wallets, which is a risky place to keep such valuable information.

The Federal Reserve provides a comprehensive document in protecting yourself against identity theft, it is a good resource to keep on hand. The best protection is to order copies of your credit report every year, pay attention to all of your monthly statements, limit the amount of information you give out and password protect personal accounts online.

Quikstone Capital Solutions works directly with Point of Sale (POS) partners that can provide efficient, PCI compliant solutions to help manage your business and maintain high security. A merchant cash advance from Quikstone Capital Solutions is a business loan alternative that can help in these types of situations. We can help pay for the costs of a new system and ease such a transition with the assistance of our sister Company Sterling Payment Technologies. Quikstone Capital Solutions and Sterling Payment Technologies management and sales team have decades of experience in the cash advance and credit card processing industries.

For more information on a Merchant Cash Advance

click on the apply now button below.

The information contained herein is intended to provide general information to recipients regarding issues related to identity theft. It does not provide legal advice.