Identity theft is a huge problem and growing by the day. Typically it is individuals who have their identity stolen and the consequences can be severe. An individual might have fraudulent credit cards or loans taken out against them, or even crimes committed in their names.

But identity theft is not limited to individuals. There has been a trend toward business identity theft, particularly among small to medium businesses. Large corporations have the resources to go after and prosecute thieves that smaller businesses don't always have.

The current trend in business identity theft involves setting up a false business in a plaza where the legitimate business exists. The false business has the same name as the legitimate one, or a name very similar to it. Then the thief orders everything from business credit cards to office equipment in the name of the true business.

Because businesses may not verify their bills and expenses daily it could be a matter of days or even months before the legitimate business discovers the fraud. In the meantime the thief has away with stealing potentially a great sum of money.

For this reason corporations are an easier target than sole proprietorships. A corporation will typically take longer to verify their expenses.

In many states the tax identification number of a business is listed directly on the state's department of corporations web site, making one of the most important, sensitive pieces of information about a corporation publicly available.

Of course, traditional forms of identity theft that apply to individuals also sometimes apply to businesses. A small business will also have to be alert of thieves stealing financial information and using it for their own purposes.

And personal identity theft is sometimes committed through companies. Breaking into data bases, hacking into customer files, provides a thief with client information that can be used to steal the identity of their victims.

Information stored in a company database can range anything from social security numbers to spending habits. All of this information can be used to pirate a customer's identity and open fraudulent accounts. In this situation it is also possible for a thief to use that very information to acquire credit from the same company that they are hacking into.

Business identity theft can take on several forms. Businesses experience identity theft that is unique to them and need to keep the current trends in business identity theft in mind at all times. With the increase in occurrences of identity theft crimes it is more important than ever to remain vigilant and cautious in protecting business and client information.

Learn more about this author, Daniel Xiao Wang.
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