Eye on the Market

All In The Family

Should document destruction companies make a greater pitch for residential business? If letters to "Dear Abby" are any indication, they may want to consider drawing up a marketing plan.

Two July 2004 editions of the nationally syndicated "Dear Abby" column focused on identity theft.

One letter writer told the tale of a parent who stole the identity of an adult child who had a better credit rating and income.

A follow-up letter from a writer claiming to be a fraud investigator in Tennessee said such crimes are growing. The writer also urged the identity theft victim to take rapid action before severe credit rating damage sets in.

"Dear Abby" author Jeanne Phillips said the letter was one of many she received on the topic, including one from Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, San Diego.

Foley said "family identity theft" is "a far too common, yet frequently hidden occurrence." She urged readers to visit www.idtheftcenter.org for prevention and post-incident advice.

GET HIPAA-READY

ASIS International, the society for security managers worldwide, will provide Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Basic Health Information Security Training online.

The online course introduces the new standards and their required implementation features, expalains who has to comply with them and suggests a process for compliance, according to the Alexandria, Va.-based organization.

While health information requires special protections, the standards are drawn from established security practices, and health care companies will have to make decisions based on best practices used by other industries, according to ASIS. The new health information security standards offer opportunities not only for security specialists in health care, but also for those in other industries, including secure destruction companies for both documents and electronic storage media.

The new course "is the result of a partnership between Train for HIPAA, a member of the Train for Compliance family of health care regulation and compliance training Web sites, and ASIS International," the organization states in a news release.

The goal of the class is to provide ASIS members with access to HIPAA Basic Health Information Security Training at a discounted registration rate of $90. More information can be found on the Train for Compliance Web site at www.trainforhipaa.com/gateways/asis.

Fool-Ish Advice

Identity theft continues to gain attention, with one recent mention coming from Web-based personal finance advisors The Motley Fool,

In a July column, Motley Fool contributing writer Selena Maranjian advised readers to take precautions when managing credit card accounts in particular.

Among her tips to readers were to keep photocopied records of credit cards (front and back) on file in case one’s wallet is lost or stolen. This way, credit card companies can be contacted right away to halt activity on the accounts.

Additional recommendations included making periodic credit report checks to look for signs of unauthorized activity; keeping one’s Social Security Number off of checks and other forms of identification; and making sure to shred pre-addressed credit card solicitations that arrive as junk mail.

Doing Time

Five Years: Additional minimum sentence for anyone using a fake form of identification in a crime considered a terrorist act

Two Years: Additional minimum sentence for anyone using a fake form of identification in a non-terrorism-related crime

Source: Federal legislation signed into law by President Bush in July 2004.

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August 2004
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