You may already be aware, that since our government has been unable to stop Identity Theft, and laws have been passed that shifts the responsibility, cost, and legal liability for ID Theft on to businesses, such as yours.

If you have not heard it before, I will say it again…Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom as well. Something has to be done about it, which is why the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) implemented the "Red Flag Rules". The Red Flag Rules stem from the implementation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and aim at reducing the threat of identity theft.

"Identity Theft" means fraud committed or attempted using identifying information of another person without authority.

Red Flags Rules are aimed to protect individuals from identity theft by assuring that organizations, which collect sensitive financial and personal information, are actively monitoring the risk of identity theft.

Compliance is principle-based focused on the outcome -- avoiding identity theft -- and not on specific requirements. There are twenty-six key risk indicators (KRI) of suspicious behaviors for example: altered documents, unusual account activity, suspicious address changes, or fraud alerts on credit reports.

A consumer's credit report that indicates an unusual pattern of activity that is inconsistent with that person's history.
An unusual number of recently established credit accounts.
Documents provided for identification that appears to have been altered.
Shortly after an address change, the financial institution or creditor gets a request for new, additional or replacement checks, convenience checks, credit cards or a cell phone, or for the addition of authorized users on the account.