Busineses at Risk from ID Theft

16th August 2008

Categories: Business Support

Busineses at Risk from ID Theft

Although personal identity theft has often been in the news, the risk to businesses is less well publicised.  According to research by Close Invoice Finance (part of the FTSE 250 merchant banking group Close Brothers Group plc) over 200,000 british businesses - over 5,000 in North East England - have already been victims of ID theft.

The study showed that a typical example of ID theft involved:

• changing the registered company address and the name of the secretary or director
• then 'appointing' new directors and opening bank accounts in their names
• having goods delivered to the new address and charges made to the new bank accounts

The real business was then left with the charges to clear and, in all likelihood, a poor credit rating.

Companies House has warned businesses and advise the following precautions:

• Regularly check your details at Company house
• File online with a password - and subscribe to PROOF, the protected online filing service
• Subscribe to Companies House 'Monitor'  service which notifies you when changes have been filed
• Keep sensitive information carefully and limit the number of employees who have access to it

If you think your business identity  has already been fraudulently used:

• Check your records at Companies House
• Explain the situtation to creditors and ask them to report it to police
• Tell Trading Standards so they can document it and deal with any complaints

To find out more visit the Companies House website.

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