Business Identity Theft
Business identity theft is when someone illegally impersonates or takes over the identity of a business. This is often done by changing the registration information of the business, such as the business’s address or officer information. The identity thief may then use the business’s identity to establish lines of credit with banks or retailers, obtain business loans, and/or purchase goods that can be bought and exchanged for cash or sold with relative ease. Dealing with business identity theft can be time-consuming and challenging.
What you should do if your business is a victim ?
- Correct the unauthorized change to your entity’s corporate registration on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website and sign up for email notifications, as further detailed below.
- Immediately contact your local law enforcement agency to obtain a police report.
- Contact the bureau of investigation for any state in which unauthorized use of your business’ identity was perpetrated.
- Contact the Georgia Department of Law-Consumer Protection Unit.
- Immediately contact your bank(s) and credit card provider(s) and report the theft.
- Compare your EIN with the EIN of the hijacked business and report any differences to the credit reporting agencies.
- Contact your business creditors and billing companies and notify them of the criminal activity perpetrated in the name of your business.
- Contact creditors where the fraudulent accounts were opened, and request copies of all documentation used to open or access the account(s).
- Maintain detailed records of all actions you take so that you can create a paper trail, as this will be useful in the event you credit needs to be repaired.
- Contact the major credit reporting agencies and speak with their fraud department to report the crime and view your business credit reports.
- Dun & Bradstreet : 1-800-700-2733
- Equifax : 1-800-525-6285
- Experian : 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion : 1-800-680-7289
The Secretary of State’s Corporations Fraud Investigations Unit investigates allegations of fraudulently filed documents. Our investigation is limited by law to whether the filing in question was properly filed, and if our investigation finds that a document was fraudulently filed, then the fee for filing any corrected document may be refunded. Other aspects of potential fraud or identity theft should be directed to the appropriate law enforcement agencies, and our office will fully cooperate with any federal, state, or local investigation.
Additional Anti-Fraud Tips
The Secretary of State’s e-mail notification program sends an e-mail to every email address associated with the corporate entity when a filing is filed on record. The notification asks each contact with an email address on file to review the entity’s information and to make sure that the changed information is authorized and correct.
- Document contacts, including names, titles, phone numbers, and extensions. Include the names and numbers of all law enforcement officers whom you contact.
- Follow up all calls with a letter (with a return receipt). Also, follow up and make sure that agencies or institutions have received all documents that they need to assist you.
- Maintain information. Do not throw away files related to the identity theft. Keep all notes, correspondences, printouts of e-mails, copies of reports, and other documents in a secure and accessible file.
- Regularly monitor your credit report.
- Regularly monitor your business record with the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division.
- Review the Identity Theft section of the Georgia Department of Law-Consumer Protection Unit website.