Pamela Whitfield knows the staggering statistics surrounding identity theft for business owners and individuals.

“Fifty million Americans don’t have medical insurance and can easily falsify information and steal someone else’s identity to pay for costly procedures or hospital visits,” Whitfield, President and CEO of Whitfield Benefit Solutions explained at a recent identity theft workshop in Bellevue. “The trouble is, the victim may not even realize their identity has been stolen and used until they are left with a huge mess to clean up.”

In 2008, identity theft resulted in over 38,000,000 records lost or stolen and half of all identity theft incidents taking place at the work place, leaving businesses liable for misplaced or stolen information. On an individual level, identity theft impacts a new victim every two seconds.

“There is more money in the identity theft business then in drug trafficking these days,” she explained. “It’s exploding because it’s a white collar crime and it results in great grains with little risk of punishment.”

More than 9 million Americans have fallen victim to identity theft in one form or another.

“Locating an individuals Social Security number is far more valuable than cash because it can be sold over and over again on the market,” Whitfield pointed out.

What most people don’t realize, said Whitfield, is that identity theft can go beyond credit card and on-line shopping theft. The new threats have emerged in the form of loss of external devices from the work place such as lap top computers, files, and flash drives, leaking personal information about thousands of employees and customers to the public. Only an estimated 23 percent of identity theft is financial, the other forms include drivers license, Social Security number, medical information, and character or criminal records.

“In a down economy, desperate people are doing desperate things,” she explained. “Data breaches are expensive, averaging an organization upwards of $1.82 million in cost and 65 percent of that loss happens in the form of lost business from customers who’s trust has been broken.”

According to Whitfield, today’s employer is challenged on many fronts including the rising cost of healthcare, increased costs of goods and services, new regulations and fierce competition.

Whitfield works as a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist, educating the public and local business owners about the risks of identity theft and the current regulations and Red Flag Rules required by the Federal Trade Commission. Meeting new laws will require specialized expertise with regard to identity theft education and communication, Whitfield explained.

On May 1, the FTC’s “Red Flag Rules” regulations regarding identity theft prevention go into effect. The rules require certain businesses acting as “creditors” to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs that identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, and activities that might indicate that identity theft has occurred. The written prevention program requires oversight by either the board of directors for the company or upper management. Whitfield also suggests training staff to recognize when fraudulent activity is taking place and to continuously update the companies identity theft prevention plan.

“Don’t tell me that nothing is going to happen. You’re painting a pretty picture that just isn’t true,” Whitfield said to a group of Bellevue-based business owners. “It’s not a question of how it will happen, but when.”

On an individual basis, Whitfield points to agencies that offer ongoing credit reports, credit monitoring, and identity restoration if anything should happen. The agencies help protect individuals and businesses from identity theft and help to repair the damage when a breach is made.

“A lot of people are struggling to pay their bills right now and stay afloat. Imagine adding the complications of correcting identity theft on top of the daily stressors. Prevention and early detection is the right way to go.”

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.

For more information on Whitfield Benefit Solutions, visit www.whitfieldbenefitsolutions.com. To learn more on Identity Theft, go to www.ftc.gov/idtheft. For more information on breaches and help for victims go to www.idtheftcenter.org