Workplace injury rates rise during the summer months. When summer rolls around, companies in many sectors, including agriculture and construction, significantly increase production.
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​If someone is using your personal or your company's financial information to make purchases, get benefits, file taxes, or commit fraud, that's identity theft.

We were recently contacted by a client who was the victim of a scam in the area where someone is buying cell phones using a businesses’ EIN (Employer Identification Number). The insured does have Identity Theft Expense Reimbursement coverage; however, no expenses were incurred. 

While insurance is still necessary and important, it's just one part of protecting yourself and your business. ​One of the best things you can do is to take steps to protect yourself before identity theft occurs. The website Fraud.org offers many tips on how to do this, including:

• Review your credit report for suspicious activity.
• Avoid giving out personal information.
• Don't use the same password and change your online passwords frequently.
• File your taxes as soon as possible. (One form of theft is to file for tax returns before you do.)

If you are a victim, take the following steps to report the fraud:

1. Report the fraud to the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490
2. File a complaint with the FTC at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
3. Make a report with your local police department 
4. Contact one of the three major credit reporting bureaus and ask them to place a “fraud alert” on your credit report. (Contact one, and the report should automatically be placed with the other two.)
5. You could also consider requesting a “security freeze” on your credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. This would probably only be necessary if you’re afraid of someone opening lines of credit with your identity.

For additional information, the Federal Trade Commission put together the document, "Identity Theft - A Recovery Plan," to guide victims of identity theft through each step of the process.

When you apply for life insurance or open a retirement account, you'll be asked to name beneficiaries. This is an important step in financial planning.
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Prevent Blindness has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness month. The goal of this month is to inspire and encourage parents to make their children’s vision health a bigger priority. 
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August is here, and so is Safe + Sound week. Safe + Sound week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe. 

​Advance planning is an important safety measure when it comes to tornadoes because storms that produce tornadoes can develop quickly. Everyone should know exactly what to do before and during a tornado. 

​Research consistently points to time away from work as improving productivity, lowering stress, and reducing absenteeism.
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Molyneaux Insurance, Inc. held its 14th Annual Share to Compare event on July 25 in Bettendorf. This annual event showcases trends in healthcare and other employee benefits.
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Molyneaux president, Roger Schemmel, kicked off this year's event, which began with an employer panel discussing workforce development. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that over 13.1 million Americans are victims of identity theft each year. As a result, they are unable to use their credit cards, cannot obtain new loans and, in some cases, are subject to criminal investigations for crimes they did not commit. One of the fastest growing crimes in America, identity theft, can cost a victim a significant amount of time and money as they try to repair their good name and credit. As business increasingly moves towards e-commerce and away from face-to-face transactions, the risk of ID theft will only continue to grow.

Social media has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. What many people don't understand are the unique risks that come along with social networking.

Anyone using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social networking site should exercise extreme caution in what they decide to say online.
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