Even 25 years after a data breach, someone couldpose as you using what used to be a valid email address and startusing your identity for illicit purposes. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Capital One. Equifax. Under Armour. Starwood/Marriotthotels. Facebook. Target. Anthem. J.P. Morgan Chase. Yahoo. HomeDepot. Adobe. Sony PlayStation. U.S. Office of PersonnelManagement.

What do all these have in common? Simply, they represent some ofthe biggest data breaches of the 21st century. Most likely, thereare others we don't know about—yet. It has become evident that anyand all of the data put onto the internet is vulnerable. Thisvulnerability can come from all quarters—scammers, governments andeven good old-fashioned recreational hackers have breached some ofthe most supposedly secure networks.

Related: How to strike balance between cybersecurity andemployee privacy

Marty Traynor is anOmaha-based consultant in the benefits field.

In the past few months, we have considered financial wellnessfor employees from different perspectives. This month, identitytheft is our focus, and it has a definite impact on financial wellness.

Let's begin with the problem. It's easy to check to see whetheryour personal data has been compromised. Equifax, for example, hasa very efficient website that indicates the scope of the breachthey suffered and allow individuals to file claims as appropriate.And yes, my wife and I were both on that list. But I'm sure we arealso on similar lists from at least some of the other compromisedvendors.

There's an interesting website called "Have I been Pwned?" It'sworth checking whether your email account has been compromised. Forexample, one of my addresses, which I have not used in over 25years, still has active data on two breach sites. Another old emailaddress I abandoned more than 15 years ago has also beencompromised.

Part of the reason I'm going back more than 25 years is toillustrate why compromised data is such an issue; someone couldpose as me using what used to be a valid email address and startusing my identity for illicit purposes. So when a compromisedentity offers temporary or short-term identity theft protection,even for several years, any time the coverage is dropped, there isvulnerability.

What's more, any password I used on any of those accounts can becross-referenced to my identity, and internet-crawling bots can trythose old passwords out on any site where there is an identitymatch to me.

Given all this, as benefit professionals, we have both anobligation and an opportunity to help employees. This is asignificant part of making sure the benefits we offer providelong-term financial wellness and security to employeecustomers.

Of course, since identity-theft protection is not a traditionalemployer-paid benefit, most of the time it will be offered toemployees on a voluntary basis. We need to understand what'savailable in the marketplace and how various options can help.While it's certainly not in the scope of this column to recommend aspecific product, the following is a partial list of features toconsider:

• Credit-monitoring services, including access to credit reportsand scores
• Remediation assistance services in the event of a theftincident
• Fraud reimbursement
• Dark web breach notifications
• Social account monitoring
• Deceased family member remediation

As more aspects of our lives are conducted online, the areas ofexposure to identity theft and the fraud that goes along with itwill continue to grow. Identity theft is now moving into themainstream of risk areas for employees.

Read more: 

• Investing in identity theft protection is worthevery penny
• Employers' interest in identity theft protection onthe rise
• How to protect your employees from identity theftduring tax season