Entrepreneurs and identity thieves: Beware the Ides of November 1

There is a lot of hand-wringing going on about November 1.

Oh, sure, most of the country is focused on a different November date, that of November 4, Election Day. But there are a group of people, representing two million organizations and businesses, that surely are a bit anxious.

Last year, Congress passed Section 214 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which stated that any businesses making credit decisions have to look for "red flags" that would indicate that the person they're about to extend credit to is actually the person they're extending credit to.

This is a good thing for the public. It means that it may get a little harder for someone to steal your identity and then, say, buy a house in your name, or have you paying some other guy's utility bill.