Copiers May Be a Channel for Identity Theft

There is a lot of information available online for protecting yourself against identity theft and with the increased use of the Internet; identity theft has risen significantly during the last few years. Although you may be well aware of the risks of identity theft when you use your PC, what about the possibility of getting your identity stolen via a copy machine?

Recently, the New York Times covered a story from CBS News that discussed the possibility of identity theft from copiers. It is interesting to note this news report because most people are not aware that using a copy machine can pose a risk to their identity.

There are certain types of copiers that operate with a hard drive just like your PC. These types of copiers are mostly high end copiers that contain hard drives which store information for an indefinite period of time. If you use a copier at work or in a public place to copy sensitive information it can potentially end up on the hard drive of the copy machine.

Now that the news report has created awareness of identity theft through copy machines, consumers can protect themselves by asking the public venue that provides copy services what types of copy machines they use and if they contain a hard drive. You can also ask your employer the same types of questions in addition to inquiring about their policy for copier use.

Although the news reported that there have been no known cases of identity theft by a copier, this is likely to change since the issue has recently been made public. Government regulations may be in the near future however currently there are no policies in place. Meanwhile, consumers can protect themselves against identity theft by using their own copier that is not equipped with a hard drive and avoiding public copy services.

Consider using an identity protection service like Lifelock, Identity Guard or Trusted ID for complete protection. You can compare identity protection services or read our detailed reviews.

Tags: copiers