Despite a company’s best efforts, data security breaches happen.  Now the federal government is making it a little easier for businesses to manage the aftermath of identity theft and mitigate damages.  If your customers and/or employees are at risk or have fallen victim to identity theft, you can now send them to www.IdentifyTheft.gov.

The website is designed to help victims of identity theft manage the process of recovery.  For example, the website addresses what first steps to take, as well as provides resources like checklists of things a victim should and will want to do in order to limit the amount of damage.  There are even links to other websites, like the credit bureaus and the IRS, that will likely be helpful in navigating the recovery process.

Perhaps one of the website’s best, and most helpful feature, is the nearly dozen or so sample letters.  These are letters a victim may need to send to a credit card company in order to dispute a charge (https://www.identitytheft.gov/sample-letters/dispute-credit-card-charges.html) or a letter that needs to be sent to one of the three credit bureaus in order to request the bureau remove any fraudulent information (https://www.identitytheft.gov/sample-letters/identity-theft-credit-bureau.html).

If the personal information of your customers or employees has been compromised, do not hesitate to make this website part of your response plan.   It could mean the difference between a chaotic experience that could lead to a loss or a smooth recovery process that could lead to a more favorable image of your business.