Identity Theft: Protecting Your Business

Identity Theft is all the rage in today's news. The horror stories about individuals lives being turned upside down by unscrupulous criminals are becoming more and more frequent.

But what about the business owner who accepts a credit card or echeck from the criminal. The individual whose identity or credit card was stolen will certainly dispute the debit to their account for merchandise or services they never received. The business owner is at risk on two fronts:

1. They may have shipped merchandise or delivered product in digital format that they will never be reimbursed for and
   
   
2. They are at risk for a charge back and any business owner taking electronic payments knows the hassle and potential loss of processing capabilities this may entail.

So what to do?

There are credit card processors that offer address verification and cvv2 card protection but these measures certainly will not deter the thief who either has the credit card of their victim or who knows their correct address. What else can you do?

There are now protective measures available that allow the business owner to interact (either via phone or web based ) with the consumer and in real time ascertain not only information available through a credit header (Name, social security, previous address, phone number and more) but would also enable an interactive questionnaire. As an example consider the identity thief on your web site ready to check out with a $1500 order. Before the transaction is finalized they are asked "Of the choices listed below which street intersected with your previous address?" or "Which of these people lived next door to you at your previous address?" The questions can be myriad and you have the flexibility to customize your "identity checklist". In addition you verify the customer is alive. That may not seem a big deal but often an Identity thief goes after the recently deceased and takes over their social security number. The ability to check the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) list for terrorists as well as Patriot Act compliance are also available.

The verification process can happen in a point of sale environment, via phone or web or integrated into a legacy application. The process can happen very quickly and would result in lost sales only in those cases where the person is not who they who say they are.

Typically fees are assessed on a per transaction basis and can range from .75 to $1.50 or more depending on the provider and information provided.

Any business taking payments or hiring people, financial institutions, government agencies and any entity that needs protection from identity theft can drastically reduce their risk by making use of the latest technologies to protect their business.

Wayne Akey has helped numerous businesses reduce risk and costs while increasing efficiency. You can get more info at http://www.IDVerify.biz