Companies and employees should be on the lookout for identity theft

Identity theft in the workplace can have a negative impact on a business, especially short term lending companies, and its employees, leading to large financial losses and a decrease in operations. There are ways for employers to educate their staff on signs of ID theft and how to prevent it from happening. The Arizona Business Gazette suggests managers safely store confidential employee information to avoid prying eyes from stealing it. Businesses should also tell staff to avoid suspicious emails and inquiries of personal data, and to refrain from giving it out to just anyone. In order to protect the company from fraud, managers should regularly review financial statements and records to check for discrepancies. Closing any unnecessary business accounts can keep identity thieves from accessing them. Another important step is for companies to update antivirus and firewall software to protect information, says the news source. One example of workplace identity theft occurred at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Empire State News reports that an employee of the department, Gary Oxendine, sold his co-worker's information to an outsider, who then used the data to open accounts and purchase items, leading to financial losses for the office and the individuals.