Businesses encouraged to safeguard client data

Businesses encouraged to safeguard client data

OCTOBER 23, 2008 – Businesses are urged to take appropriate measures to protect their clients’ and consumers’ personal information. Recent data breaches have exposed millions of consumers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers, bank accounts, mortgage information and credit and debit card numbers. The Attorney General’s Office regularly receives complaints and inquiries from concerned consumers and companies alike on this issue.

"Business owners have a responsibility to their customers and their employees to protect personal identification information," said Attorney General Bill McCollum. "With proper data collection and measures to safeguard that information, companies can minimize the risk of customers’ and employees’ personal information falling into the wrong hands."

Attorney General McCollum noted that businesses are not immune from identity theft and fraud. From large companies to small stores, identity thieves seek to steal customers’ and employees’ personal information through data breaches or outright theft. The Federal Trade Commission reports that businesses lost $56.6 billion to identity theft in 2007.

In Florida, businesses are required under Florida Statutes Section 817.5681 to notify any affected individuals if a data breach has exposed personal information. The Attorney General’s enforcement role is to get businesses to contact consumers and notify them that a breach of their personal information has occurred. The Attorney General’s Office also urges companies to immediately contain the breach to ensure personal information isn’t further compromised and to implement remedial steps to address information security including issues implicated by the original breach.

Consumers whose personal information may have been affected by a data breach should carefully review credit and debit card statements and monitor all transactions on their credit card statements. If there is unauthorized activity, they should immediately contact their card companies or banks. They may also file a complaint by calling the Attorney General's fraud hotline at 1-866-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226) or submitting the information online at http://myfloridalegal.com. Additional information about identity theft, tips to protect individuals and recovery information is available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/identitytheft.