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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2012
Contact: Megan Sanborn
(207) 441-0501

Secretary of State Charles E. Summers, Jr. Announces Corporate Identity Theft Education Seminar Series

Secretary of State Charlie Summers announced today a series of seminars to educate Maine’s business community of the risk of corporate identity theft. The Office of the Secretary of State is working in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service and regional business development organizations to inform Maine businesses about how they can minimize specific identity theft threats to their businesses. The goal of this series is to help business owners and managers learn how to be alert to risks, best protect their operations, and effectively respond should breaches in their identity security occur.

The National Association of Secretaries of State reports that criminals look for ways to steal a legitimate business identity by gaining access to its bank accounts and credit cards, as well as other sensitive company information. Once they realize they are victims of such crimes, businesses may need to spend valuable time and resources to repair the damage to their credit and reputation, and banks and retailers may be left with significant financial losses.

The seminars are open to the public and free of charge. Each is approximately one hour in length and allows time for questions and answers. The Small Business Advocate from the Office of the Secretary of State will begin each seminar with a brief summary of the assistance now available to Maine businesses facing regulatory challenges.

• Bangor: Husson University, Dyke Center for Family Business, Tuesday, May 22, noon - 1:00 pm
• Presque Isle: University of Maine Presque Isle, Campus Center Multi-Purpose Room, Wednesday, May 23, 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
• Portland: Portland Regional Chamber, 443 Congress Street, Thursday, May 31, 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
• Machias: Sunrise County Economic Council, 1 Stackpole Road, Thursday, June 7, Noon – 1:00 p.m.
• Calais (via simultaneous teleconference from Machias): Washington County Community College Administration Building, Room 6, Thursday, June 7, Noon – 1:00 p.m.

 “Maine business owners and managers unaware of how to best protect their operations are at risk of not only losing a great deal of money to identity thieves, but also of severe damage to their reputations. By directly presenting this critically important information to our business community, we aim to equip owners and managers with the tools they need to understand, prevent, and respond to identity theft,” stated Secretary Summers.

For more information about these seminars, please contact Jay Martin at the Office of the Secretary of State at (207) 626-8410 or via email at jay.martin@maine.gov.