Workshop to focus on identity theft.

The North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting a workshop Nov. 16 for business owners and managers who want to know how to protect their businesses against the high cost of identity theft.

According to figures from the federal government, identity theft costs business $53 billion each year, as another person becomes a victim of the crime once every 12 seconds in America. The average loss to businesses was $4,800 from all forms of identity theft and $2,100 from cases of thieves simply using someone else's established accounts, according to the latest major study from the Federal Trade Commission conducted in 2003. The average cost to consumers then was $500.

The workshop will be conducted by Bob Rebhan, one of the foremost experts on the subject. His clients include American Express, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple Corporation, American Airlines, LAPD (for whom he was once a SWAT officer), Sears, Neiman-Marcus, Macy's and dozens of other organizations.

"Businesses play a role in preventing identity theft," Rebhan said. "Merchants have a social responsibility to check identification against credit cards. When these merchants slide cards through that terminal they think, they're protected against identity theft." Rebhan says, pointing out the fact that credit card processing terminals don't check the presenter's identification, only that the card is valid at that moment and:the amount is authorized.

"I wish that terminal would continue by sending the merchant instructions to check ID," he said.

He believes an "inappropriately vocal one percent" of consumers have convinced merchants that checking ID's is inconvenient and off-putting. He believes that a handful of people have erroneously convinced companies that checking ID's during a credit card sale is bad for business.

But, says Rebhan, there's more to protecting one's business from identity fraud than checking ID's. According to him, all businesses should have a prevention regimen that covers everything from hiring to point-of-sale procedures. Topics he will cover include:

* Learning how to spot an identity thief and training employees to do the same.

* Practicing point-of-sale security.

* Guarding against employee and employee/assisted identity theft.

The workshop will be held at the food court at Northridge Fashion Center with breakfast scheduled at 7 a.m. and the workshop starting at 7:40 a.m. Cost is $15. For more information, or to make a reservation for the workshop, call [phone].