(Source: Business Wire)
MicroBilt Corporation, leading provider of risk management solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is rolling out the industry's first education and certification program designed to equip those handling consumers' personal credit data to deter identity theft. MicroBilt will now require every user of its verification databases to be educated and tested on the ComplyTraq Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Certification Program, a detailed training module on the legal and appropriate use of sensitive personal data. The training can protect smaller businesses from facilitating identity theft, incurring steep fines and jeopardizing customer relations.
"The bad publicity and legal ramifications of allowing customers' personal data to be misappropriated can literally devastate smaller businesses but many don't have the resources to keep up on the latest laws and criminal tactics," says Bob Raleigh, Chairman of MicroBilt Corp. "We developed this FCRA training with ComplyTraq to ensure that those using our databases are aware and accountable for keeping customers Social Security Numbers and other personal information from being stolen while establishing credit. Our customers are very enthusiastic about having this information available and being better able to protect their assets and their own customers' privacy."
In recent years, several federal agencies such as the FTC and initiatives such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act have addressed identity theft, defining breaches and establishing fines of up to $2,500 per instance of misused data. Individual states also address fraud and privacy violations making the job of staying current on regulations more challenging. Where legal counsel or senior managers may be aware of changes, they often don't have procedures for distilling useful information down to those pulling credit while processing applications.
MicroBilt's on-demand FCRA training is highly intuitive and interactive enabling users to go at their own pace while keeping education engaging and the testing process secure and efficient. New users of the MicroBilt system will have 30 days to complete the FCRA training and final exam and all users will be required to repeat the course annually.
"Ounce of Prevention" Reassures Consumers
"Our implementation of this FCRA training is a critical step in a major campaign to helping the industry become more proactive about preventing breaches in the first place," Raleigh says. "We're educating our customers from the ground up to avoid risk throughout the process.
