Employees Outside the Office Could Become I.D. Theft Victims

While you can typically keep track of your employees inside the office, outside can be a whole other story.

With more workers commuting these days and/or traveling for work-related functions, the typical office place has changed to a degree. As a result, they can become prime targets for identity theft thieves.

So, is that a risk as a business owner that you’re willing to take?

If not, what do you plan to do about it?

Protecting Your Workers and Brand

When even one of your employees becomes the victim of identity theft, it can shake up your business more than you might realize.

Keep in mind that those who work for you typically outside the office are vulnerable on a number of fronts (not to mention you sometimes too).

These include:

• Independent contractors – More and more companies have moved to working with independent contractors in recent times. The advantages to such moves can be numerous, so it makes sense for many businesses to go this route. For starters, even though the independent contractor is on the employment sheet, he or she is technically not a full-time member of the company. As a result, they are not entitled to health benefits (in most cases), can’t apply for unemployment if let go (see more below), and do not typically come into the central office unless needed for a meeting etc. It is that last detail that can oftentimes concern a business owner. While they likely trust the contractor to meet his or her responsibilities in a timely manner, they are working off of a computer server totally removed from the main office. Identity theft thieves can take advantage of this, especially if the freelance worker does not have a secure server at home. This is where identity theft protection options, including those offering LifeLock promo codes, can make a huge difference. By making sure (even if you have or want to contribute to purchasing a product) your independent contractors have security in their home computers, you lessen the odds of important company and customer data potentially being stolen;
• Traveling employees - Even though some companies have cut back in recent years when it comes to traveling employees (teleconferences and other such means are more involved in doing business with new or existing clients), many still travel for work. With that in mind, can you say with great certainty that your employees’ on the road have safe Internet connections at all times? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is likely no. In fact, those traveling for work may be more at risk due to the fact they are using various connections. The computer hosts can be at the likes of hotels and motels, coffee shops, airports, libraries, and a number of other outlets. If any identity theft thief or ring has set up shop in one of these venues without security knowing it, they can potentially access company and personal information. When that happens, both the business owner and the consumer can be in trouble. While you want and need your traveling workers to do business on the road, protect them as much as possible when it comes to your computer safety needs;
• Former employees – Finally, make sure as part of your security apparatus that you change the usernames/passwords of departed employees rather quickly, even those having worked for you as independent contractors. While the majority of workers leave on good or average terms with their former employers, some do not. As a result, you do not want to take the chance that even one former worker could compromise your company’s data, that is if they still have access to their username/password combo they had when under your employ. Changing the username/password combo literally just takes seconds, so don’t overlook it.

Short of working in a security bubble, you and your employees will always be potential targets for identity theft thieves.

In order to decrease the odds of becoming their next victims, find an online security system that will work to protect your brand and your data.

Not doing so could leave you and your business on the outside looking in.