Due to the growing threat of business identity theft, which is not bound by state lines or jurisdictional constraints, our goal is to provide a comprehensive online resource that all U.S. businesses can utilize to help protect their business, learn more about business identity theft scams and prevention strategies, request information and assistance from government officials, and effectively recover if they are a victim. This site is maintained by the Identity Theft Protection Association which, together with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), has spearheaded efforts to bring together state government officials, business owners, law enforcement, financial industry representatives, and other key stakeholders in the fight against business identity theft.
The BusinessIDTheft.org website is provided as a free public resource to provide critical information and assistance to businesses in all jurisdictions. Please contact us with news, suggestions, or other tips that are relevant to the purpose and content of this website.
Background: NASS Business Identity Theft Task Force
In 2011, in response to significant incidents of business identity theft nationwide, the National Association of Secretaries of State formed the NASS Business Identity Theft Task Force. The Task Force, comprised of Secretaries of State from across the nation, has been working with a wide array of industry stakeholders, including state legislators, law enforcement, business support groups, financial institutions and others.
In October 2011, the Task Force held a ground-breaking forum in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to Secretaries of State and senior staff from twenty states, the first-of-its-kind forum also included consumer advocates and representatives from federal, state and local government, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Secret Service/Electronic Crimes Task Force, Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection and the Georgia Technology Authority. Additionally, numerous leading industry service providers served as sponsors and discussion panelists. NASS used participant input from the forum to develop a white paper aimed at helping states combat business identity theft.
Public awareness, education, and outreach to help businesses and business owners understand the crime and reduce their risks were critical components of the overall nationwide strategy to combat business identity theft. Therefore, NASS and the Identity Theft Protection Association (ITPA) partnered to launch a comprehensive free resource website, BusinessIDTheft.org, designed to educate businesses and business owners, help them to manage and reduce their risks, and to assist victims of business identity theft crimes.