Secure Your Customer Data: Here’s How

“Make sure your data is being transferred to a secure and encrypted server,” Cobb advises. “If not, the chances of someone finding it online and stealing it are pretty high.”

You can’t duck in under the regulatory radar screen simply by telling customers in your privacy statement that you don’t really protect consumer data. That’s just bad business, of course. But if you say you’re protecting it and don’t, it becomes a deceptive business practice, and the FTC will come calling. “It only takes one legitimate consumer complaint to the FTC to bring the 500-pound gorilla onto your case,” says Cobb.