By Brian O’Connell      10/31/13

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — So you got an email, text or phone call from your bank or credit card provider that includes the words “data breach.”

If those words don’t make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, they should. Once you hear the term, there is a good chance the words you hear next will be “identity theft.”

So says a report from Javelin Research, which estimates that a quarter of all data breaches related to credit and debit cards lead directly to I.D. theft.

That means that of 16 million Americans warned that their credit or debit card had been compromised, about 4.4 million wound up losing money and fighting the ghosts that come part and parcel with ID theft.

That’s no mere inconvenience. Javelin says U.S consumers lost $21 billion to identity theft last year, and it cost them up to 37 hours to fix the problem.

In addition:

• 1.26 million Americans notified of a data breach involving their Social Security numbers were victimized by identity fraud.
• 270,000 Americans notified by a data breach on their online banking accounts saw fraudulent activity on their checking and savings accounts.
• 324,000 Americans contacted over a data breach involving their regular checking accounts were victimized by checking and/or savings account fraud.

Read more:

_________________________________________________________________________

CALIFORNIA BROKER

Legal Plans Represent Winning Proposition for Employers & Employees

Alan Fearnley                                             June 2013

Hendricks, a Charlotte N.C-based company, operates 92 auto dealerships across the country. The company, which is highly selective of its benefits offerings, wanted to add a
benefi t that could help employees with the problem areas of their lives. Yopp said Hendricks’ leadership team knew that the employees, like all people, regularly encounter legal situations and issues that they don’t know how to handle. He added that these issues often bleed over into the workplace, affecting employee attitudes and performance.
“The more we researched options, the more we realized that a legal protection
plan made a lot of sense. People have health insurance, property insurance,
life insurance and disability, and the like, but most people don’t have any help
in dealing with the legal issues they face over course of their lives,” Yopp said.

Read more:

___________________________________________________________________________

DIGITAL JOURNAL

Small Businesses Face Legal Challenges Alone

New Study Shows Large Number of Small Businesses Don’t Seek Legal Help Despite Risks

DALLAS, June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/

DALLAS, June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – A new nationwide study released today by LegalShield shows a majority of America’s smallest businesses – those with 250 employees or less – go at it alone when it comes to dealing with legal issues that impact their business.  From debt collection, to contract disputes, to regulatory interpretations and employee issues, small business owners increasingly make critical decisions that could affect the success of their business without the benefit of advice or counsel from an attorney.

The Legal Needs of Small Business Survey shows that more than 13 million small businesses – nearly 60 percent of all small businesses – experienced significant legal events in the past two years.  However, a majority of those businesses (54 percent) did not seek the services of an attorney to help them deal with those issues.  When asked why they did not hire an attorney, 57 percent reported they believed they could handle legal issues better on their own, while 40 percent said they did not use an attorney because of cost concerns.  The reluctance to use an attorney comes despite the fact that nearly all respondents listed at least one legal issue – debt collection, insurance disputes, government regulations, tax issues, contract concerns, intellectual property protection, product liability and threats of lawsuits by customers and employees – as one of the “greatest threats to their business.”

Read more: 

__________________________________________________________________________

Dan Norris

Independent Associate
LegalShield

Small Business Consultant

Author