In recognition of April being proclaimed Fraud Prevention Month by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Commerce is highlighting the growing threats facing consumers, and the agency’s work to protect Ohioans through education, enforcement and accountability.
From romance fraud to deed fraud, and AI?powered impersonation schemes to the financial exploitation of older adults, fraud continues to evolve at a rapid pace. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, Americans reported more than 859,000 complaints and over $16 billion in losses in 2024, which is a 33% increase from the previous year. In Ohio, the Federal Trade Commission found that identity theft was the most common online complaint in 2024, with residents filing 27,766 reports.
Across Commerce, multiple divisions work daily to identify, stop and alert Ohioans to scams before they’re impacted, while…
IT & DATA SECURITY (MITIGATING THE “INSIDER THREAT”)
As seen in the TD Bank case, an employee with too much “access” can sell your customer data to syndicates.
- Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP): Employees should only have access to the specific folders and databases required for their current task.
- Access Revocation: Have a “Termination Checklist” that ensures all digital access (Email, VPN, Banking) is revoked within 60 minutes of an employee resigning or being dismissed.
- System Logs & Audit Trails: Enable “Read/Write Logging” on your server. If a customer’s data is leaked, you need to know exactly which login accessed that record and at what time.
- Encryption at Rest: Ensure that sensitive files (like your customer ID numbers or payroll spreadsheets) are encrypted so that if a staff member copies them to a USB, they cannot be read.