TORRANCE TRIBUNE February 5, 2015 Page 3 Tech Talk I’m Concerned About Identity Theft, How Do I Protect Myself? By Sid Kato, Array Systems, Inc. Identity theft for your business is different than identity theft for an individual. Rules governing your business are stricter which could result in greater exposure. Here are a few tips to follow to protect your business: Review your banking agreements. There are shorter timelines for fraudulent activity on business accounts. In some instances, if you don’t notice fraud until you reconcile your checking account at month end, it will be too late. Other activity like wire transfers require reporting almost immediately! Implement two-factor authentication (two people) for any outgoing wire transfers. Even better, implement multi-factor authentication, using different people and different facilities (email, fax, telephone or special tokens). Utilize online banking and increase your reconciliation frequency, especially if your transaction volume is high. Along with online banking, implement an electronic alerting system, i.e. email alerts that will notify you of potential fraudulent activity. Use a different computer, than the one you use for email, when accessing your account online. The best set-up is to use one computer only for financial transactions and connect it to your network when you need to access online banking. Make sure that this computer has all the latest security patches and virus upgrades. Enroll in Positive Pay with your financial institution. Positive Pay requires a financial institution to process transactions only if information regarding the payee and amount has been provided by the account holder in advance of each transaction. Use high security checks and always keep your check stock, deposit slips, and authorization materials in a secured location. It’s better to be safe than sorry in today’s world. If you would like to better educate yourself on Identity Theft, access the website: www.businessidtheft.org. Dear Readers, this column addresses frequently Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Business Briefs Police Reports asked technology questions by small business owners. If you have any questions you’d like answered, email to pr@heraldpublications. com and we will try to answer them. Thank you and enjoy! • Traveling Tribune in Canada Barry Brown of Riven Woodworks in Halifax, Canada checks out the Torrance Tribune. Photo by TerriAnn Ferren. Barnes & Noble Recognizes Favorite Teachers Barnes & Noble in Torrance will be recognizing local teachers with the My Favorite Teacher Contest. This nationwide contest provides middle and high school students with the opportunity to tell their communities how much they value their teachers. These students will write an essay, poem, or thank-you letter describing their favorite teacher and how that person has influenced and inspired them. Our local winner will be entered into the regional and national contests. The national winner will be honored in a ceremony at their local Barnes & Noble store and will receive a $5,000 cash prize and their school will receive $5,000 as well. Entry forms and additional information are available at BN.COM/myfavoriteteacher. Entries are due to Barnes & Noble in Torrance by March 1. Express Employment Professionals Office Opens in Torrance Express Employment Professionals announces the opening of the Torrance office by franchisee Larry Halvorsen. Halvorsen and his team will assist local job seekers in finding employment and help area businesses find qualified employees. Express offers traditional temporary and contract staffing, as well as temp-to-hire evaluation and direct hiring options in a variety of fields, including commercial, administrative, customer service, technical and professional. The new Express office is located at 22805 Hawthorne Blvd. and serves the area surrounding Torrance. Local businesses and job seekers are encouraged to stop by, visit TorranceCA.ExpressPros.com or call (310) 923-7580. • USBA Holds Successful Business Mixer Integrated Physical Medicine (IPM) in coordination with the Unified Small Business Alliance (USBA) held a networking event on January 30. More than sixty local business owners attended the mixer and had the opportunity to introduce themselves and talk about the services they provide. Assemblyman David Hadley, Mayor Pat Furey and Councilman Tim Goodrich gave motivational speeches and took time to mingle with the audience. The attendance and support of our local officials was key to the success of this event. Gabriela Fischer, Community Outreach Director at IPM and Most Valuable Member for the USBA, and Aurelio Mattucci, founder of USBA. Photo provided by South Bay Integrated Physical Medicine. Aurelio Mattucci USBA founder, presenting a welcoming certificate to Dr. Woelfel, Executive Director at IPM. Photo by Gabriela Fischer. Dr. Woelfel, Executive Director at IPM; Torrance City Mayor Pat Furey; Dr. Simmonds, Medical Director at IPM; and Assemblyman David Hadley, the keynote speaker. Photo by Gabriela Fischer. Auto Theft 1/25/2015 10:00:00 AM 1700 BLOCK DATE AVE Stolen vehicle: ‘05 Chevrolet Silverado Burglary-Auto 1/25/2015 9:00:00 AM 24500 BLOCK PARK ST Suspect(s) enters unlocked vehicle, ransacks and takes property/ watch, amplifier, remotes Burglary-Auto 1/25/2015 9:45:00 AM 24500 BLOCK PARK ST Suspect(s) enters unlocked vehicle, ransacks and takes property/ sunglasses, remote, cash Burglary-Auto 1/24/2015 8:00:00 PM 21300 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Suspect(s) enters vehicle by unknown means and takes property/ purse Burglary-Commercial 1/25/2015 6:45:00 AM 6100 BLOCK PACIFIC COAST HWY Suspect(s) cuts lock on storage unit and takes property/ paintings Battery-Simple 1/24/2015 6:34 PM 21800 BLOCK HAWTHORNE BLVD Suspect throws beverage at victim, striking her in the face Vandalism 1/24/2015 5:31 PM 3400 BLOCK 190TH ST Suspect(s) damages fence post Burglary-Auto 1/25/2015 10:00:00 AM 24500 BLOCK PARK ST Suspect(s) enters unlocked vehicle, ransacks and takes property/ tire chains, backpack, scooter, headrest, vacuum, adapters, tote bags, cell pouch Theft 1/26/2015 10:30:00 AM 1200 BLOCK PORTOLA AVE Suspect(s) takes victim’s vehicle’s catalytic See Police Reports, page 10
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