I received an email last night from a well-known TV anchor wanting my input on a new Facebook issue.  He’d read that when calling Facebook Headquarters, the automated attendant comes on and gives you options to reach each department, and the second option was to press 2 for “law enforcement.”

It could seem odd to many, but it’s true. If you call the Facebook Headquarters (650-543-4800) and reach the switchboard, the 1st option is “For customer support, press 1″ and the second option is “For law enforcement, press 2″. Law enforcement comes ahead of business development, marketing, press, and employment verification in the list of options.When you press 2, the next message says: “This message is only for members of law enforcement. Please note that due to a very large volume of incoming calls, the current call back time is two to four business days. For a faster response, please leave your work authorized email address… A member of Facebook’s security team will email in a timely manner.” Which means that Facebook is very busy fielding calls from law enforcement.

The anchor, and the rest of us, want to know why!

Facebook receives all kinds of requests by law enforcement, as it is essentially a diary of each and every user. Don’t confuse it with a typical diary of the pre Web 2.0 era. The modern diary (or dossier, as I more commonly refer to social networking profiles) is a photo journal, video log, friendship org chart, location status, written history, browsing analyzer, that is so effective because it can be so addictive. In other words, the Facebook activity of an average user  is a digital representation of  that user’s identity. So, to net it out, here several reasons law enforcement officers call Facebook:

• Tracking listed sex offenders for inappropriate use of the Internet
• Civil dispute subpoenas (domestic cases, child custody, harassment, etc.)
• Evidence used in the discovery process (establishing intent, state of mind, relationships, etc.)
• Cases of libel or defamation
• Terrorist activity tracking and fundraising
• Background checks for local, regional and federal governmental positions
• Background checks on potential jurors (see tomorrow’s story about a juror who was dismissed because of a Facebook post)

This is a fascinating and under-reported aspect of social networks – they are providing an open book on people (for good and evil) that used to take investigators (and scammers) weeks or months to collect. All you really need is a subpoena, or to friend the person on whom you are collecting data.

John Sileo became one of America’s leading Social Networking Security Speakers. You can learn more about Facebook Safety and how to protect yourself online here. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. To learn more about having him speak at your next meeting or conference, contact him by email or on 800.258.8076.

Related posts:

1. Law Enforcement Cuts Mean Identity Theft Will Continue to Rise
2. How to Disable Facebook Places
3. Facebook Hits 500 Million Users: 3rd Largest Country

CSIdentity SAFE

Great employees are hard to find, but without the right employee background screening process, deceitful candidates are even harder to spot. Hiring dishonest employees puts your sensitive and confidential business information at risk and could cost you millions if stolen or damaged.

According to The Ponemon Institute, an independent research foundation, the average cost of data breach to a victim corporation is $6.75 million. In 2008, the lowest reported cost of data breach was $613,000, while the highest was just under $32 million. Given that the average cost per stolen record is $202, one missing laptop with 2,500 customer or employee records on it would come with a data breach recovery bill for a half a million dollars. And that doesn’t factor in loss of stock value, brand damage or customer defection that results from having your breach in the news.

Insider theft, where one of your employees facilitates the breach, is a common source of this crime. And your risk doesn’t go away when your employees do. Over 60% of  employees keep sensitive data after they have been terminated and nearly 80% of them stated that they knew it was against company policy. This includes everything from email lists and customer information to financial business information.

The incidents of insider theft can be easily reduced by applying proper employee background check techniques. My business is a great example of how effective background checks can be. I hired a business partner without performing even the simplest of verifications. That partner proceeded to use my identity to steal $300,000 from our customers. I would have seen his criminal tendencies had I just invested a few dollars in screening him properly.

Each year nearly 2 million applicants use false or stolen credentials and get hired.  The Background Screening tool that I use to screen employees for my business is CSIdentity SAFE . Here’s what it does:

• It validates the applicant’s true identity so that you know the background check record belongs to the person sitting in front of you.
• It detects if the name or other personal data has been falsified
• It determines whether the applicant has a criminal history under any assumed names or aliases
• It conducts in-depth screening searches including criminal, driving, employment, licensing and education verification & more
• It allows you to order, track and receive drug screening results online in 15 minutes
• It lowers your data liability by making background checks available only to certain employees
• It provides continuous monitoring of your employees record in case they commit a crime while on staff

In other words, SAFE gives you the tools to re-take control of the screening process so that you are notified of negative employee data even if they choose to hide it from you. Even after the employee has been hired CSIdentity SAFE continues to monitor their criminal record and will send you updates of any changes.

An employee background check is a step that most employers skip, but if done right it could save your company millions on potential data breach. Looking back on my personal situation, it was an expensive and painful mistake that could have been quickly and easily prevented.

John Sileo provides identity theft training to human resource departments and organizations around the country. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. To learn more about having him speak at your next meeting or conference, contact him by email or on 800.258.8076.

Related posts:

1. Dishonest Employees: How to Avoid Hiring Them
2. Top 5 Reasons Corporations Educate Employees on Identity Theft