Security & Privacy
In a High Tech World Security and Privacy are Mandatory.
Between the exploding numbers of business data breaches, home computer hacking, phishing and vishing scams, card skimming, computer key-logging viruses and a host of other threats, thieves have numerous ways to obtain personal information on prospective victims. In the world in which we live in today, everyone is at risk of identity theft. On average, victims spend over six hundred (600) hours solving each occurrence of unauthorized use of their personal identifiable information. The crime now even effects children, and parents are scrambling to find ways to protect them; many of which, has already had their personal identifiable information compromised.
Identity theft wreaks significant damage on its victims. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates the identity theft crime tallies $52.6 billion dollars a year, or almost $200 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. The most recent figures from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) show that out-of-pocket expenses related to identity theft have risen to $1,495 in average lost wages. The average time it takes victims to recover from identity theft has risen to 607 hours. Perhaps the greatest impact is long-term, as victims remain vulnerable for the rest of their lives.
Medical identity theft results in erroneous information and diagnosis being recorded in the victim’s permanent MIB record. This crime causes ongoing problems for the victim when they need to obtain medical care and/or insurance. In some cases medical identity theft has resulted in a fatality for the victim. Employers also suffer from medical identity theft in several ways including paying higher health insurance premiums for their employees due to the fraudulent information in the victims (employees) MIB records. Employers also suffer from employees lost time and productivity, absenteeism, stress and distraction, resulting from employees solving their issues of victimization on their own.