Protecting Your Business and Employees from Identity Theft: Tips and Tools

Identity theft is a growing concern in South Africa, with a 356% increase in reported cases in 2022 alone. As a business owner or manager, you might not have considered the impact this could have on your employees’ productivity and your company’s bottom line. Here are some tips and tools to help protect your employees from identity theft.

The Impact of Identity Theft on Employees and Business

Identity theft can cost the average consumer around R9,514, but can be much higher as fraudsters resell compromised identities on the dark web to other fraudsters too.  Employees have a single emotional bucket, which means that this can result in decreased productivity as they rectify the damages done to their financial lives by these imposters. This ultimately affects not only their personal lives, but your business’s success too.

Employees could be spending that valuable time and energy trying to restore their identity and credit instead of focusing on their work. This can lead to lower morale, higher stress levels, and reduced performance.

Fraudsters are very good at stealing your employee’s money, but they are also really good at stealing their peace of mind and their ability to focus. Restoration of the damage done involves police reports, and proving innocence with the credit facility providers too.

The Role of Education in Protecting Employee Identities

Education is key in protecting your employees from identity theft. Regular training sessions can educate employees on how to identify and prevent phishing scams, create secure passwords, and what to do if they suspect their identity has been stolen. Large organizations with many employees should include identity protection training to their employees, given the company’s reach and influence.

It protects the employee, the employer and business community at large, as all three become victims during successful identity theft events.

Some of the topics you can cover in your training sessions include:

• How to check whether you have been a victim of identity theft
• How to check whether you have been loaded as a potential fraudster at Southern African Fraud Prevention Services (SAFPS)
• How and when to monitor credit reports and bank statements for suspicious activity and errors
• How to include biometrics as a means to protect yourself against impersonation fraud
• What to do when you have been a victim of identity theft
• How to spot phishing emails and avoid clicking on malicious links or attachments
• How to report identity theft or fraud to the relevant authorities and institutions
• How to report scams and assist the fight against fraud

From Reactive to Proactive Identity Protection

Technology can play a significant role in protecting employee identities. Biometric technology, such as Secure Citizen’s identity verification and protection solutions, can offer a secure and efficient way to verify employee identities and prevent fraud. Secure Citizen’s free app offers Fraud Protection, Verify a Stranger, Claim Your Digital Identity, and Alerts to provide an added layer of protection against identity theft.

Fraud Protection allows users to scan their ID documents and use biometric data to create a digital identity that is verified against Home Affairs in real time… This digital identity can then be used to prove their identity online or in-person without exposing sensitive information.

Verify’em allows citizens to do person-to-person identity verification without sharing sensitive information. This can help prevent them from ending up a victim of catfishing or scams that can cost more than just financial harm.

Claim Your Digital Identity. The simple act of claiming your identity on Secure Citizen offers the ability to take back control of your data which  can help to proactively prevent identity theft or misuse of their personal data. It also provides citizens with a means to change the way businesses verify the authenticity of customers rather than relying on non-effective traditional means.

Alerts notifies users of attempts to verify their identity, offering the opportunity to make fraud prevention proactive as it helps users to respond to identity theft or fraud quickly.

Prioritize Employee Identity Protection

By prioritising employee identity protection through education and technology, you can prevent the emotional and financial toll of identity theft on your employees. This is not only the right thing to do, but it safeguards your business against the devastating effect that impersonation fraud can have on the mental health of your employees… Reach out to Secure Citizen to request a free cyber security awareness session at your organisation and let’s work together as society to protect your employees’ identities.