Home

What are the red flags rules?

Identity thieves use people’s personally identifying information to open new accounts and misuse existing accounts, creating havoc for consumers and businesses. Financial institutions and creditors are required to implement a program to detect, prevent, and mitigate instances of identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal bank regulatory agencies, and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) have issued regulations (the Red Flags Rules) requiring financial institutions and creditors to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs, as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003. The programs must be in place by November 1, 2008, and must provide for the identification, detection, and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities – known as “red flags” – that could indicate identity theft.

RedFlagRulez™ can be personalized for your needs, giving all financial institutions and creditors the opportunity to design and implement a customized program that is appropriate to their size and complexity, as well as the nature of their operations. Guidelines issued by the FTC, the federal banking agencies, and the NCUA can help covered entities design their programs. But the guidelines identify only 26 possible red flags. These red flags are not a checklist, but rather, are examples that financial institutions and creditors may want to use as a starting point.

The RedFlagRulez rulebook goes beyond these 26 possible red flags. It defines in detail actual red flag rules, patterns, and conditions that indicate possible identity theft.

Call us to discuss your situation and how we can help