Engravers can have an invaluable benefit to a business by marking tools, property, and equipment with a California Drivers’ License or specific code number. The Alliance has purchased several engravers that are available for loan to member-businesses.

Identity Theft and Fraud Tips

• Buy a shredder with a criss-cross cut. Shred everything with personal or business information (i.e. names, addresses, social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc.). This protects you, your employees and your customers.

• Invest in a locked mailbox that only you can access. Take outgoing mail directly to the Post Office or to one of the large blue street mailboxes.

• Invest in black lights for your cashiers to check the validity of the card. All major credit cards have a hologram that appears under black light specific to the card. Always request a picture id - such as a California driver’s license (which also has a hologram image) - with the credit card.

• When writing personal or business checks, use a permanent ink “Gel-Pen”. Regular ink can be washed off with household chemicals and re-written for any amount to anyone.

• Order your credit report once a year – or one every three months - from each of the three major credit bureaus to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent use of your accounts. Scan it thoroughly for inaccuracies and correct them with the 3 reporting companies. By ordering your report individually from each reporting company you can file a correction claim directly online.

“Harden the Target”
By making it harder to steal things from your business, you make your business less appealing to criminals.

• ID your property. By using an engraver or invisible pens, mark your property with your driver’s license number (quickly identifiable anywhere in the U.S.) or a special code. Keep a list of codes and marked property.
  
  
• Lock your dumpsters.
  
  
• Move all equipment inside or out of view.
  
  
• If you must keep equipment outside, keep the area clean and neat and very well lit.
  
  
• Lock or chain up equipment. Remove the tires or bolts so the equipment cannot be removed. It takes effort, but your equipment will be there in the morning.

• Install high quality bright lights and “hostile” plants around the perimeter.  Thorny bushes make it harder for criminals to climb in windows.

• If you’ve been tagged by graffiti, take pictures and then remove it immediately. Taggers want their work displayed. If you leave it up, they come back to make their next statement.

• If your equipment has been stolen numerous times, you may want to look into an Electronic Tracking System (ETS). Contact the Sacramento Police Department first, before using this system.