What does a rental property owner or manager need to know about Identity Theft?
There was a time when the answer was nothing. But today, that answer will get you into trouble. Anyone who obtains consumer credit reports, such as a property owner or manager does when an applicant applies for an apartment, is now required by law to have an Identity Theft protocal. In addition, an owner or manager is required to have policies in place to safeguard the confidential consumer credit and other personal information of applicants and tenants alike, including past tenants.
Therefore, you must have a policy and a procedure to safeguard your residents files, both paper and electronic. This means, your tenant files must be locked up at night and they can never be left unattended on your desk or the desk of a staff person even during the day. You must have a policy to protect information from being stolen physically (paper and electronic) or over the phone or fax.
This means you must have security procedures in place to protect information from being stolen by fraud. You must also protect your computer files from outside and inside threats. This will include a secure monitored and routinely updated firewall, and secure wireless access to your network. If you allow access through your firewall, such as a VPN or Instant Messaging, you must have other safeguards in place. Sound complicated? It is.
Helpful Links:
Here is what the site, The Crime Doctor, has to say on the subject: