Learn about fraud alerts and how to protect your business from identity theft.
According to a report in 2018 from the National Cybersecurity Society, business identity theft was one of the fastest-rising forms of fraudulent activities in the US at the close of the last decade.
That trend has only continued stateside in recent years and has also begun to accelerate in international markets. In fact, according to a February 2020 report from Juniper Research, businesses may lose over $200 billion to online fraud by 2024.
Because of the prevalence of identity theft and the staggering financial impact it can have on a business, it is important that you can protect yourself in the event you think you have been exposed.
Below, learn the basics of fraud alerts for businesses, how to place a fraud alert on your credit file, and how our platform can help your business stay protected against the rising challenges presented by cybercriminals to businesses.
What Are Fraud Alerts?
Fraud alerts are most commonly used by consumers when they suspect that they have been the victim of identity theft. Alerts last for a year on consumer credit reports and increase the difficulty with which someone can open a credit account under a consumer’s name.
It is important to note that a fraud alert is different from a credit freeze. A credit freeze prevents the ability for a consumer to open a new credit account, lasts on a credit report until it is removed, and must be placed by contacting each major credit bureau.
How Are Fraud Alerts Different For Businesses Versus Consumers?
While the end result of a fraud alert for a business is the same as it is for consumers – increase the difficulty for fraudsters to commit identity theft in your name – the process to file a claim is a little bit different.
To place a fraud alert on your business credit report, the process starts with sending a signed letter to the commercial relations departments of the credit bureaus.
The letter you send must be formatted with the following requirements:
- Printed on your company letterhead letterhead
- Request a fraud alert be placed on your business credit report
- Explain the reason why
- Include a signature from the company business owner
- Include the company business owner’s contact information
After that letter is sent and processed, the credit reporting bureau will then update your business credit report with a message alert. Once that alert is added, any lender will then be required to contact your business for confirmation in advance of extending any lines of credit.
Business fraud alerts do not display on Business Public Record reports.
Similar to a consumer fraud alert, business fraud alerts are not the same as credit freezes.
Keep Your Business Identity As Secure As Your Personal Identity
Businesses like yours are challenged on many fronts in their efforts to protect themselves against fraud. Contacting the credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your reports in the event you believe your business has been the victim of identity theft is a great first step, but it’s not the only option you have to protect yourself.
In today’s rapidly advancing world of digital commerce, you need to innovate your security and fraud prevention policies across all channels.
Fraud.net’s identity services help remove the <1% of fraudulent and high-risk users so that you can focus on thrilling the >99% of high-trust customers.
To learn more about how we can help protect your business from the risks of identity theft, please check out our solutions for Synthetic Identity Theft Detection.