A recent data breach at a household payroll company has caused household employers and their nannies to worry about what to do in the event this happens to them. Our payroll and HR partner, GTM Payroll & HR, provides a look at steps employers and nannies can take following a data breach or identity theft, along with resources to help.
As a payroll company, security is integral to our operations.
It’s central to the trust that underpins our relationships with our clients and their employees, who entrust us with important personal and financial information.
As criminals become increasingly sophisticated, you need to be prepared for identity theft.
An incident can occur when someone uses your personal or financial information to receive benefits, file taxes, make purchases, or commit other forms of fraud.
With a recent data breach at a household payroll company making headlines and creating anxiety for many families and nannies, here are some immediate steps to take if you’ve been notified that your personal and/or financial data was exposed.
7 Steps to Take in the Event of a Data Breach or Identity Theft
- Freeze your credit at all three credit bureaus. It’s free and blocks new accounts in your name.
- Sign up for free credit monitoring in your notice letter and note the enrollment deadline.
- Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN to protect against tax-refund fraud, as your payroll and tax data may have been exposed.
- Protect direct deposit. Watch both your and your employee’s bank accounts and confirm any request to change deposit details by phone.
- Expect phishing. Scammers often pretend to be the breached company. Don’t click links in unexpected emails.
- Remember your employee. Your nanny was affected too. Share these steps with them.
- If fraud happens, report it at IdentityTheft.gov.
Additional Data Breach and Identity Theft Resources
- This Identity Theft Response checklist can help those impacted by a data breach or identity theft by strengthening your response and reducing potential damage.
- Credit bureau freezes: Equifax | Experian | TransUnion
- Free weekly credit reports
- Identity Theft Recovery Guide
- What to Know about Identity Theft
How GTM Protects Our Clients’ Data
We’d also like to share how GTM protects our clients’ and their employees’ information and helps prevent fraud.
If you’d like to understand all that we do, visit Our Commitment to Data Security.
Here are just some of the steps we take to ensure our clients’ data security and prevent fraud:
- Annual security assessments by the New York State Department of Financial Services
- Third-party audits by an independent, certified public accounting firm that evaluates, tests, and reports on security and compliance controls; and the National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha), which governs the ACH Network of direct deposits and direct payments
- Adherence to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for cybersecurity standards
- Monthly security awareness training and phishing testing for all employees
- Continual training for key employees in new guidelines and practices, testing, and advanced technology
- Third-party penetration testing, which identifies and exploits vulnerabilities in our applications and network infrastructure by simulating cyberattacks
- Monthly vulnerability scanning of our technology systems, networks, applications, and other computing resources to identify and report potential vulnerabilities
- Around-the-clock monitoring of our computer networks and systems to identify and respond to potential security threats, breaches, or unauthorized activities every hour of the day, every day of the year
- Monitoring of payroll transactions for signs of unusual activity that could indicate fraud
- Utilization of advanced analytics to identify patterns and anomalies that may suggest fraudulent activities
- Follow Know Your Client (KYC) verification, considered the standard used in the financial services industry to verify customers
- Compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its anti-money laundering (AML) policy
GTM also undergoes an independent SOC 1 examination, which means an outside accounting firm reviews the controls around how we process your payroll and tax data.
We know this is a lot to digest, so we’re happy to discuss it further and bring in our security experts if you have any questions or concerns.
Bottom line, we are dedicated to maintaining the highest levels of data security, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance to protect the sensitive information families and their employees entrust to us.
It’s at the core of what we’ve done for the past 35 years.
A New England Nanny's Cybersecurity
As an affiliate of GTM, our agency undergoes the same rigorous data security training and standards, helping to provide peace of mind to our families and caregivers that their data is protected.
Visit anewenglandnanny.com or call (518) 348-0400 to learn more.