Identity Fraud Merchants Need to Watch Out For

Business identity theft, also known as corporate or commercial identity theft, occurs when criminals pose as owners, officers, or employees of a business to illegally transact business and establish lines of credit with banks and vendors. It has much greater complexities than personal identity theft and there are numerous ways to commit this fraud.

Typically, thieves cash out quickly and go unnoticed until the bills and collection notices arrive and leave businesses spending valuable time and resources to repair the damage.

4 Types of Theft to Watch Out For:

1. Financial fraud – Thieves open new lines of credit, loans or credit cards in the business’s name and file fraudulent commercial code financial statements.
2. Web defacement – Fraudsters manipulate a business’s website to redirect traffic to another website and steal customer data.
3. Trademark ransom – Thieves register a business’s name or logo as an official trademark and demand a ransom to release the trademark.
4. Tax fraud – Criminals imitate a business by using a federal employer identification number and file false returns using tax subsidies to obtain refunds.
5. LLC fraud – Thieves create an LLC with a similar name and register it in another state. They then reroute company payments to the fraudulent LLC address.

How Companies Can Protect Themselves:

• Check and monitor the commercial credit report
• Sign up for electronic notifications with banks, creditors, or service providers
• Review bills and account statements and report suspicious activity
• Monitor the business public record on file with the state
• Keep business records and documents secure, especially employer identification numbers
• Educate staff on best cybersecurity practices
• Don’t share sensitive information over email or web-based services
• Invest in cybersecurity insurance

To Learn More About Payment Security:

Contact us online or call 1-800-621-8931.

Check out i3 Commerce Technology’ newsroom.