BBB to host ID security event

Identity theft continues to be one of the biggest issues facing the United States and many other nations, as criminals have expanded their capability to steal information and capitalize. Businesses need to take a proactive approach to ID verification, and ensure that all employees understand the best practices of document retention, destruction and security in both digital and physical formats.

WEWS-TV, a Cleveland-based ABC affiliate, recently reported that the Better Business Bureau is planning to hold its annual Secure Your ID Day on April 20. According to the news provider, the BBB believes that consumers and small businesses should consider participating in this and other ID verification and protection events to cut down on the risks associated with identity theft.

The source explained that the BBB will focus specifically on the destruction of any records that contain potentially dangerous information, such as bank account numbers, medical documents and more. Further, officials believe that the only way to combat this growing issue is to educate consumers and businesses in the best practices of security.

"Identity theft is largely a crime of access," David Weiss, the president of the BBB, explained, according to WEWS-TV. "Our goal here is to make the information less accessible and empower people to be their own first line of defense against identity theft. With community-based BBBs across North America collaborating simultaneously, we'll have a tremendous coast-to-coast presence that will reach a lot of people and, hopefully, prevent a lot of theft."

In 2012, the Identity Theft Resource Center recorded 165 security breaches that led to the exposure of more than 4.6 million sensitive records in the U.S. business sector alone. All industries and the public sector combined for 447 breaches and more than 17 million exposed records, illustrating the importance of more proactive and effective ID verification.