Your employment records may not be as safe as you think.

Job applications, personnel records and other employment data that should be filed safely away is being taken by identity thieves and used to open credit accounts, apply for jobs and, in some cases, commit crimes.

As the incidents of this particular type of identity theft increase, federal agencies are trying to increase awareness among consumers and employers. Many companies provide little protection of this information, and victims rights groups are lobbying state legislatures to pass laws protecting employee records.

“You can’t really protect yourself,” said Martha Steimel, president of Victim’s Assistance of America. “Anybody who has access to employee files can turn you into a victim. You can be totally mutilated financially by an identity theft perpetrator. It’s scary.”

In a recently released report, the Federal Trade Commission said the top cause of identity fraud is now theft of records from employers or other businesses that have records on many people. About 90 percent of business record thefts involve payroll or employment records, while about 10 percent are customer lists.

There’s not much employees can do to keep their records safe. Social Security numbers, addresses and other data are often kept in paper files or on computers. Anyone who has access to those files, online or otherwise, can steal them. Thieves sometimes take temporary jobs to get into a company so that they can steal information. Others work for third-party vendors who handle corporate credit accounts or provide janitorial staff.

Companies who have become more aware of this type of crime are taking steps to protect themselves and their employee information. They are locking up files and keeping audit trails to document who has reviewed sensitive data, and are removing Social Security numbers from identity badges, as well as bringing in third parties to carry out privacy investigations to make sure their records are not vulnerable.

The lack of attention to identity theft risk in the workplace is changing. Some states, like Georgia and Wisconsin, have passed laws requiring employers to destroy documents containing personal employee data. California has passed legislation barring private firms from using Social Security numbers as identification numbers.

In recent months, the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop for businesses on safe record keeping, and the agency is working with the industry to develop best practices.

Companies are also starting to revamp policies as workers who’ve been victimized sue employers for negligence. A case in San Diego, Calif., in which employees brought a suit against a pharmaceuticals company after they became victims of identity theft, has become a warning for companies all over the country.

In this case, workers sued for negligence, claiming the company had not taken enough precautions to protect their information. The case was settled outside court.

Tags: Identity Theft, LifeLock

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Identity Theft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.