Think about discovering you’re the co-owner of your small business as an alternative of the only proprietor, or that you’ve a satellite tv for pc enterprise you did not find out about working in a distinct state, or there’s a enterprise with an identical identify utilizing an identical handle to yours pretending to be your small business. How would any certainly one of these eventualities impression your small business? That is what enterprise identification theft seems like. It might occur to any enterprise massive or small. It may occur to yours, too.Most small to mid-sized companies do not perceive what identification theft can do to their enterprise till it’s too late.Enterprise identification theft does not goal people, as an alternative, criminals search for methods they’ll take worthwhile data fro reputable companies. They’re in search of financial institution accounts, bank card numbers and passwords, and delicate mental data.These looters achieve entry to key accounts and drain them, many occasions, earlier than the financial institution is conscious of the act. The price of enterprise identification theft could be monumental. It may take lots of of hours and a big sum of cash to restore the injury. Some companies by no means get well and exit of enterprise.Enterprise identification theft remains to be a comparatively new kind of crime. Most enterprise house owners have not heard of it. So there’s a temptation to disregard it. Steve Cox of the Higher Enterprise Bureau says, “Business identity theft is a very real concern in today’s marketplace. From a criminal’s perspective, it’s significantly more cost-effective to steal business identities than consumer identities.:The criminals act quickly. They know they only have a short period of time before the act is discovered. The Ponemon Institute says that 84 percent of the cases money was stolen before the fraud was detected by the bank.Many small business owners don’t think they have much that a thief can take from them. But the truth is that you don’t have to have more than a good name. The thieves can use it to get loans, order products and ruin the businesses good name. Dun and Bradstreet’s Senior Risk Analyst Robert Strezze states, “What is especially disturbing about this development is the numerous greenback quantity concerned. It is common for the losses to be within the mid-six figures by the point the prison exercise has been detected.”The unfortunate truth is that most businesses don’t take the time or steps to safeguard against the crime. Most are too busy doing the daily activities to keep the business going. It isn’t until the damage is done that a business realizes the trap it fell into.What are the keys to business identity theft prevention?There’s good news for businesses who are willing to put some time and effort into business identity theft prevention. Many times preventative measures can mean big savings and a better image in the community. There are three keys where a business can lessen the likelihood that identity theft will happen:The first key is to establish a position on the leadership team that is in charge of monitoring for business identity theft, establishing procedures for data breach prevention, and protect against other criminal activity. This officer could be called the Chief Security Officer, for example, and should have the power to check banking, credit card and other key accounts. The officer would be wise to establish “greatest practices” for information security including employee training, password protection and more.The second key is to set up monitoring services that watch your back for you. A businesses personal information is everywhere. It is nearly impossible for one person to keep an eye on every aspect of the business. A business identity theft protection service that includes business credit monitoring and internet surveillance, identity theft alerts, and whole business recovery can be a valuable asset for identity theft protection.The third key is to set up credentials monitoring in the Dark Web. This is where criminals do their business buying-selling-trading stolen information. Credentials monitoring will alert a business when stolen credentials, IP addresses and, for banks, BIN card numbers appear. Businesses can take proactive steps to prevent the stolen information from harming them, their employees and/or customers. Millions of stolen credentials, email and login information, show up every month. Stolen credentials is a major player in all forms of business fraud.Business identity thieves are clever and determined. They can take advantage of businesses and business owners that do not take precautions to protect their business.I ask nearly every business this question: “If somebody began representing himself as an proprietor or officer in your small business, how would you already know? How quickly would you wish to know?