​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.

In the business world, barely a week goes by without a major cyber incident happening. To help guide businesses toward cyber preparedness, Hiscox has come out with its 2019 Cyber Readiness Report.

This year’s report shows that of the companies surveyed, most experienced one or more cyber attack in the past year. The cost and frequency of these attacks have increased significantly, as well as the risks involved for small and medium sized companies. 
​

Crime Insurance has been around for decades with a focus on protecting companies from employee and vendor theft, fraud and forgery. 

By contrast, Cyber Insurance was created to protect companies from damages occurring from cybercrime. The first cyber policies covered such things as customer notification, credit monitoring and other related services, as well as third-party liability. 

With the number of data breaches increasing every year, it’s not a question of if your business will suffer a breach, but when. The threat affects companies of all sizes and in every industry, including manufacturers.
​

As the number of data breaches involving smaller businesses continues to grow, a survey by The Hartford finds 85% of small business owners said a potential breach of their own data was unlikely, and many are not implementing simple security measures to help protect their customer or employee data.
​

It's a nightmare scenario for business owners. Employees log in to their workstations and attempt to access the usual systems, expecting to find customer reports. Instead, they find a message demanding money.

If the business wants to regain access to its software and data, it will have to pay a ransom. Until then, it is locked out. The business has become the latest victim of ransomware. 
​
Ransomware is malicious software that hackers introduce into an organization's computer network to encrypt its data. The hackers hold the data hostage until their demands are met.

There is no time like the present to educate yourself about the potential dangers of financial and credit card security. The convenience of making online purchases is becoming increasingly more popular, but many people are not fully aware of the risks they could be taking when making these purchases. Continue reading to learn about how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of a cyber-attack or identity theft.  

Findings from an analysis of 2017 cyber claims data revealed that negligence was the most common cause of loss for the healthcare industry and a hacking attack the most common for non-healthcare organizations. However, ransomware was the second most common cause of loss for all industries.

Ransomware is a cyber-related threat with a monetary demand. The threat is typically to divulge or destroy information, to insert malicious code into a computer system, or to damage, destroy or prevent access to a computer system. According to the report, “2018 Cyber Claims Digest,” by NAS Insurance, there was a 152 percent increase in ransomware as a cause of loss in the healthcare industry between 2016 and 2017.

Whether browsing social media or completing online homework, students spend much of their day plugged into their phones, tablets, and computers. While they are spending their time connected to these devices, many are forgetting to protect themselves from the many hidden dangers of the internet.
​
Cyber security isn’t typically something one thinks of when beginning college. According to an article by Forbes, Millennials believe cyber security is imperative, yet more than half avoid common-sense computer safety measures. Campus safety now goes beyond walking home alone at night. Continue reading to learn about how you can be cyber-secure upon entering college. 

Hacking and cybercrime are in the news daily, and everyone has likely been impacted by it in some way from the numerous high profile breaches of the companies that store our data. The increase of these threats has awakened us to the reality that we need a level of vigilance that offers better protection.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, data breaches increased 40 percent in 2016, with a total of 1,093 reported breaches. This trend continued in 2017, with over 1,120 cases reported by October. Ransomware was the most common threat. Global ransomware costs due to business productivity impact and mitigation are estimated to have exceeded $5 billion in 2017. An additional $2 billion was paid to hackers in ransom over that same time period.