A Street Smart Guide to Avoiding Customer Information Theft

Start-ups have enough challenges– from raising funds to generating sales—yet sometimes the biggest threat comes from within.  Businesses that take payments via credit card or PayPal should be aware that customer information theft is on the rise and your business can be sabotaged if you don’t have the proper checks and balances in place.

Case in Point:  A company paying thousands per month for advertising/Google adwords was growing their online business exponentially.  Suddenly, sales started to trickle down to almost nil. At the same time, the company began receiving various reports of unauthorized credit card charges.  After the company received notice from a local police department, I was retained by the Board to look into the matter.

 Me:  I have two questions for you – who handles the new customer inquiries? Who takes the payment information   from the customers?

Him:  The same person – our General Manager.

After requesting…