Being an entrepreneur means that your company’s success is most squarely on your shoulders. It’s one of the reasons you decided to go into business in the first place.
An unfortunate side effect of this dynamic is that if you have a run of bad luck in your personal life, say your identity gets stolen it can be debilitating for your business. Don’t think it can happen to you? Neither did Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or Arnold Schwarzenegger. So how exactly did it happen? And as an entrepreneur what should you learn from it?
What Should You Learn From It?
The website, Exposed.su posted personal information of 15 prominent celebrities and politicians. Sensitive information revealed included phone numbers, addresses, Social Security numbers, mortgage accounts, credit card numbers, and bank accounts — pretty much everything except underwear size. There is a question as to the legitimacy of the information, according to FBI agent Brad Garrett. In an interview with ABC news, Garrett said, “Is this a prank? Is this a hoax? Is it to get attention? That wouldn’t surprise me one bit.”
As of now, there are more questions about the hacking attack than there are answers. Both the CIA and FBI have launched full-scale investigations hoping to find the answers and most importantly who’s behind the attack, Huffington Post reported. But then again, if this can happen to the Vice President and the First Lady, what hope do you have?
Related: Strong Cyber-Security Policies are Crucial To Business Success
Do You Still Have Hope?
While you should do everything to prevent your identity from being stolen, LifeLock on Facebook.com does actually have some good tips you should go further and have a plan set aside just in case, despite your best efforts, you get hacked and defrauded. The FTC Consumer Information Center recommends doing three things immediately upon learning your identity has been stolen: Firstly, place a fraud alert. Next, order and review your credit reports. Lastly, file an identity theft report. Each of these steps involves knowing where to go online, what numbers to call, as well as ways to monitor your progress.
As an entrepreneur, time is already a premium. If you don’t have a solid plan to deal with your identity getting stolen you’ll be forced to devote more time than is necessary to fix the situation, take the time now to investigate the exact steps. Should you have to deal with identity theft you will be better equipped to handle it efficiently without interrupting the running of your business. Below are some links to reputable websites that outline the process more in-depth. Do yourself and your business favor to read them and formulate your own plan.
