| |
| |
|
Credit Information |
|
|
|
Why Does FACTA Matter to Me?
FACTA stands for Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act. FACTA is the law which allows any American access to their credit report once per year. The law went into effect Jan. 1, 2005. So what does that mean for you as an employer? On June 1, 2005, a new provision of FACTA goes into effect. It says that any employer (even if you only employ one person, and you have their personal information so that you can pay social security taxes,) whose action or inaction results in the loss of employee information, can be fined by federal and state government, and sued in civil court. A USA Today article on FACTA from Jan. 14. 2005, stated "Bet you didn't know that." But you need to know, and need to know what you can do to protect yourself. Small Businesses affected the most '"A small businessman who makes a mistake could bear the brunt of a regulation like this," says James Plummer, policy analyst at Consumer Alert, a non-profit group that focuses on a free-market approach to consumer regulations.' The USA Today article goes on to say that "if you don't shred and information gets out, there are penalties." But what if you do shred all potential employee information, and take all necessary precautions to protect your past, current, and future employees' identities, and the information still gets out somehow? Under FACTA, you could still be held responsible. You may not think information theft could happen to you, but neither did this short list of companies, universities, government institutions, and businesses that have had employee or customer information stolen from them: DSW Shoe Warehouse Lexis Nexis University of Northern Colorado California State University (Chico) University of California - Berkeley University of Maryland Las Vegas Department of Motor Vehicles Bank of America Choice Point Weld County (CO) Employees (information stolen by an inmate while in jail) How can you, as an employer, minimize your liability? There are hundreds of things you can do to minimize liability, which are probably things you already do. Document shredding, redaction of electronically stored information, careful screening of employees who will be coming into contact with personal information of customers and employees, physically locking file drawers with sensitive information, and setting up firewalls on computer equipment connected to the Internet, among hundreds of other solutions, are all good ideas. The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is definitely the case when it comes to securing personal information. However, no matter what prevention steps you take, there is no 100% effective way to be sure that employee's information won't be compromised. Even if the information doesn't get out from your company, an employee can claim that it did. That's a scary thought! What if an employee claims that their information was stolen through the actions of your company, but there's no real proof to back it up? You will end up hiring (or using) an attorney to represent and defend your company in court. At $150 - $200/hour for most attorneys across the United States, how long can you afford to defend your company? So what can you do? The only sure solution, or at least the only solution that would at least provide an affirmative defense against the fines, fees, and lawsuits you could incur as an employer, is to offer some sort of Identity Theft protection as a benefit to your employees. As an employer, you can choose whether or not to pay for this added benefit. However, the most important thing you can do is to make the protection available, and have a mandatory employee meeting, similar to what you probably already do for health insurance, to help employees understand Identity Theft and the protection that you are making available to them. When you make the protection available, and when your employees have been educated on the dangers of Identity Theft, they can either elect to have identity theft coverage as a benefit, or they can decline the coverage as a benefit. If the employee has Identity Theft coverage and becomes a victim, it is beneficial to your business, because an employee with Identity Theft coverage will spend less time, less money, and will experience less frustration while trying to have their information restored. This will get them back on the job and focused on work more quickly. If the employee declines the coverage, and later claims that the information was stolen as a result of you or your company's actions, you have a piece of paper, with their signature, saying that they attended the presentation and declined the coverage. Choosing to not make Identity Theft coverage available leaves you exposed to an unlimited dollar amount that you can be sued for under civil liability, federal fines of up to $2,500.00 per employee per incident, and state fines of up to $1,000.00 per employee per incident. Recommended course of action? Have a benefits consultant who offers an Identity Theft protection plan present to your employees. Help them set up a 20 minute presentation with your employees, and make it mandatory that all employees attend. You want your employees to be protected from this awful crime. If they choose not to be, but you've given the option of being protected, then the liability becomes theirs, not yours, when they become a victim of identity theft. Jonathan Kraft is a benefits consultant who specializes in educating people about how they can get affordable access to the legal system. Because of his work in the field of electronic Identity Theft, he has come to be known as Colorado's Foremost Expert on Computer Related Identity Theft. To schedule a time for Mr. Kraft to present Identity Theft and Legal Service protection to your employees, please contact him at (877) 825-7119. You can also find out more on the web at http://www.strive4impact.com/group
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Best Strategy To Erase Credit Card Debt Credit card debt is a growing sickness in the United States and Europe. It is very important to eliminate debt and take control of your financial health. Identity Theft Exploding: Here's How You Can Avoid Becoming A Victim Americans are more concerned about identity theft than unemployment or corporate fraud, according to a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Star Systems.Nine out of ten Americans demand new federal legislation, while two-thirds say the financial services industry needs to do a better job of verifying the identity of customers who open bank accounts (66 percent) and credit card accounts (72 percent). Top 5 Reasons To Check Your Credit Report Regularly #1 Make sure mistakes aren't hurting your credit.Reviewing your credit report can help you avoid costly errors. How Your Credit History Can Affect Your Life Your credit history is an important aspect of your life. Maintaining your credit rating is very important to your future and to your lifestyle. Important Things to Know About Divorce and Credit Joint debts remain joint debts.Both spouses signed a legally binding contract with the creditor, and a divorce decree neither amends this contract nor relieves the creditor's investment in you. The Advantages of Credit Cards There are many evils associated with credit cards, but there are benefits that are hard to ignore. One benefit is having the credit card company act in your behalf to recover funds from a disputed transaction. When You Are Eligible For A Free Credit Report By Federal law, you are entitled to one free credit report per year directly from a credit-reporting agency only if you certify that:1. You are unemployed and seeking employment in the next 60 days. Defeating Credit Card Debt With Self Control Credit card debt is a major social problem in some Western countries. To rid yourself of credit card debt, it is best to recognize the problem as both a social and individual problem. Why Credit Cards are a Bad Idea Credit cards are just so convenient, aren't they? There's no need to carry any money with you ever again: you can just take one with you to the shop and pay the exact amount just by handing it over. If you haven't been paid yet, then you don't need to worry, because the money will still be there. How To Survive In A Plastic World, Qualifying For Credit Card Let's face it, having credit is no longer a choice. "Don't leave home without it" is more like "can't buy a home without it. Credit Repair Scams "Erase Bad Debt !""Remove Negative Items From Your Credit Report"You've probably seen these headlines and others just like it promising to clean up or "fix" bad credit. For someone who suffers from a bad or poor credit rating, these headlines are certainly an appealing offer. Save Money and Lower your Payments by Improving or Repairing Your Credit Having a better credit score not only represents easier access to money from lending institutions, but more importantly represents instant money in your pocket.This probably sounds like something obvious for most of people, but it isn't until you start thinking in terms of real examples and real dollars that most of us start to understand the magnitude of the benefits associated with a good credit score. Your Guide On Choosing a Credit Card To Suit You Reach into your wallet or purse, pull out a card, swipe, and you're done. It is very easy to use a credit card. Credit Education Having credit education is like knowing how to read. It will be necessary throughout your life. Useful Tips On Avoiding Credit and Charge Card Fraud Credit and charge card fraud costs cardholders and issuers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. While theft is the most obvious form of fraud, it can occur in other ways. Negotiating Rates with Your Credit Card Company Ok, let's face it, everybody hates high credit card rates, and they drain hard earned money out of your wallet. As a valued consumer, it is apparent that you learn how to negotiate to get the absolute best rate that you possibly can. What Is the Fair Credit Reporting Act and What You Should Know About It The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the recent update to this law called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) protect consumers against inaccurate information being reported by credit bureaus and the privacy of that information. What does this mean to you?When you make purchases on a credit card, make payments to your accounts, open new bank or credit accounts, borrow money, buy a house or a car, and even fund your education, your financial information is reported by creditors and lenders to a credit bureau. Keep Your Credit History Clean - Remove A Negative Credit Record From Credit Report The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are similar and feature a "Credit Score", which is created from credit report data submitted to them about you.But very often your credit report includes inaccurate, wrong or incomplete information (credit records). Credit Cards - The Basics How Lenders Operate - And How They'll Make a Tidy Fortune from the UnknowingCredit card companies might seem like immensely clever, money making enterprises that exploit every loophole to maximize the interest payments - and profits - they are taking from you every month. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Credit Score - Reporting Your Financial Health Credit score is one of the most basic, determining factor while loan borrowing. Credit score is the criterion for the creditor to ascertain whether to give you credit or not.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2008 |
Comment by Marshal Cohen