File hosting may prevent fraud risk

Category:: Online Storage
Thursday, March 15, 2012

March is fraud prevention month, and the Canadian postal service recently released a set of guidelines that all people can follow to help protect themselves against identity theft. According to Canada Post, a file hosting solution could be one way that the average person can both protect his or her confidential information and keep it organized in a single location.

The Canadian organization said that many people like to have bills and other records sent to them in electronic form. When this is the case, using a secure online data storage tool can keep this information hidden from prying eyes and criminals with malicious intent.

In the United States and Canada, this type of service is even more important during the current tax season. Many tax documentation contain sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, that people must protect.

"One of the fastest growing crimes in Canada is identity theft. It occurs when someone steals your name and other personal information with the intention of assuming your identity to gain access to your finances, make purchases and incur debts in your name, or commit other crimes," Canada Post's report stated.

The organization also cited a statistic that revealed fraud to be as profitable as drug-related crimes. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Commercial Crime Branch, the report stated, fraud schemes account for $10 billion–$30 billion stolen from Canadians each year.

With an online data storage tool, a person can ensure he or she doesn't become a part of that statistic.

Some IT experts may question the security of cloud-based applications, but there is a growing notion that such concerns are unfounded. According to a recent Data Center Knowledge report, organizations are responding to new threats by tweaking security measures and ultimately making them better.