Cybersecurity must be monitored for new security threats at the corporate level.

Identity thieves crafted a new method to hijack corporate information by using the state of Colorado’s business registry. Five people have been arrested in California in connection with a corporate identity theft scam in Colorado. Authorities say the individuals changed the information that at least 35 companies had submitted to the business registration system at the Colorado Secretary of State's Office to forge the firms' identities and apply for lines of credit at a number of retailers.

In one case, the scammers accessed a company's information in the business registration system and changed its location from Boulder, Colo., to a virtual office in Aurora, Colo., so that they could intercept its mail. The scammers then applied for a line of credit with Home Depot and made nearly $250,000 in online purchases.

Robert Brown, who is in charge of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) fraud unit, said scammers would then send "street urchins" to pick up the items at a Home Depot store. A total of $750,000 in fraudulent purchases has been made at Home Depot so far, according to the CBI. That figure could grow further, since it is believed that a number of other groups may be involved in similar scams.

Meanwhile, businesses across the country are being urged to monitor the information that is on record with the state they are located in. One way that companies can do this is by registering with organizations such as Dun & Bradstreet and Standards and Poor, which alert companies when their registration information has been changed.