Secure Your Workplace
Prevent Identity Theft
By Daniel Muniz

I am often amazed at how casual so many people are when it comes to their own workspace at their job. They treat their desk at the office as if it is at their own home. Yet, such carelessness may become an easy target for identity thieves.

Years ago I once worked for an army defense contractor which had a couple dozen employees. The company hired a young vivacious blonde receptionist who oftentimes dressed in risqué outfits. Naturally, nearly all of the men enjoyed her presence and many thought very highly of her.

However, one day, my co-worker from my department told me that he had stayed late in the office and thought that he was the only one left at the workplace. He then heard someone rifling through the desk drawers of several nearby offices so he went down the hallway and found the receptionist digging through other employee’s personal belongings.

Although she was initially startled at being discovered, the receptionist gave my co-worker several snide remarks that was to the effect that this was no big deal and don’t be a geek about it.

This secretary was not an identity thief or any kind of thief at all and she actually came from a rather affluent background. But rather, she was simply a snooper. She probably had an idle curiosity and enjoyed going through other people’s belongings. Incidentally, I have personally known plenty of snoopers who do something like this all the time.

Fortunately, no one ever lost anything at the workplace or experienced any kind of fraud but it did illustrate to me how easy it was for someone to poke around your personal stuff after office hours.

And long before that incident, at my first job as a technical writer I worked for a manufacturer of small electrical devices (okay, they were light switches). The office section contained a few dozen employees while the assembly line and the warehouse area had a couple hundred people.

At that particular workplace, just about anything that wasn’t nailed inside your desk was going to be stolen. People had lost cash, checkbooks, and other personal items. Although I never personally lost anything, I quickly learned to never take anything of value to work unless it was on my person during the entire work day.

Yet too many people don’t think twice about leaving sensitive information at their workplace; or even leaving any items of a personal nature. Your desk drawer may be a treasure trove for identity thieves or snoopers because of all the identifying data on forms and contracts.

For instance, the beneficiary information of a 401k has names, addresses, and birthdates of your spouse, children, relatives and anyone else that you put on it.

The form for a direct deposit to your bank for your paycheck, flexible spending account, etc., will have your checking account number along with its routing number.

Some people also keep their credit card statements for their company issued card at their desk instead of at home since they feel that it is the company’s responsibility for security. That may be so but if the card has your name and it is attached to your social security number, there may be things that you could ultimately be liable for.

The list of personal items could be endless but the point is that employees must do their part to keep it secure.

I know lots of people who simply lock their desk drawers (when such locks are available) at the end of every day. That is a simple precaution although there are plenty of ways to get around such locks since many of them are very cheap but the real solution is to not keep such information at your workspace at all. Such data belongs either at your home or in the Human Resources department of your employer instead having copies or originals at your desk.

There are a number of people I know who wisely prepare a new resume shortly after they begin a new job. And they consistently maintain that resume throughout their employment so that in the event of an unexpected layoff, they are fully prepared to immediately seek a new job elsewhere.

That same mentality ought to be applied to the workplace too in that you are prepared to leave your job with your important personal information at a moment’s notice. Layoffs and terminations are often wildly unpredictable and can be sudden and abrupt. Some employers may allow you a brief amount of time to pack away your things in a box while others may ask you to leave the premises immediately (and a supervisor may even stand in the parking lot until you drive away).

Certain individuals are sentimental of their office space and may extensively decorate it and there is nothing wrong with that. Adding personal touches to the workplace enhances the work environment. Some people may even bring in their own appliances like a microwave, etc.

But employees should be able to forever leave a workplace from anywhere within 30 seconds to two minutes at the most. That is, have all the personal data that you want to take with you already placed in a few folders so if the bad news ever comes, you can simply pull open a drawer and take the files with you. In that way you are guaranteed that such personal information is physically with you instead of floating around from desk to desk.

There is no reason to be careless at the workplace especially when it can be prevented. A little bit of preparation can go a long way in securing your personal identifying information.

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